Wolfhound
by itsmyartfam
Summary: Peter is clearly having a nightmare, so the dog lies down next to him on the bed. His fingers tangle in his fur and after a moment, his breathing evens out. A small smile appears on his face. 'I've never had a boy before,' the dog thinks, snuggling against Peter, 'But I'm definitely going to keep this one.' Basically Peter gets the emotional support dog he desperately needs.
1. Chapter 1

Looking back on his puppyhood, it seems he spent nearly the entirety of it in a cage. A hard metallic floor beneath him and a door of thin wires that kept him locked in. Humans in white coats roamed around the room he was kept in, occasionally removing him from his cage to poke him with more needles or run various experiments. They were scientists, he knew that much, and they were trying to do something to him. He didn't know what exactly, but amongst the scientific mumbo coming out of their mouths, he often heard the word 'enhancement'.

He was later proven as a small success after the scientists forced him to run for hours on the treadmill to test his endurance. They said he had increased stamina, which excited them, but when they continued to inject him with serums and take his blood and nothing else happened, they grew disappointed.

The dog did feel something different, however. While his body didn't enhance any further, it seemed that he gained a new ability.

He first noticed it with his handler, April. She was his favorite human, and while he didn't have a name, she liked to call him Nine, after the number the scientists called him, FX009. Nine liked her very much, and when she approached him one day he just _knew_ how happy she was to see him. He didn't even have to read her body language or hear her voice, he just felt her happiness. Later, when she left for the night, Nine felt a little piece of him go with her.

His ability got stronger after that and expanded to other humans too. He could feel the malice and frustration of the other scientists, could feel their indifference to his obvious pain as they injected him. April was like a light in the darkness, a constantly positive emotion in the sea of hostility and irritation he felt from the humans. However, sometimes when she looked at him, when no other scientists were around, he felt sadness from her. When she was gone, he was practically in agony, feeling as if a piece of himself was missing and not being able to rest until she returned.

Nine didn't know what was happening and didn't like it, but the scientists remained oblivious to his newfound ability. One day, while he's with April, one of the scientists approached her and told her that FX009 had been deemed a failure. A flash of panic came from her and she immediately protested, but the man refused to listen and insisted the dog will be put down so they can focus on other experiments.

April was in emotional turmoil for the rest of the day, and thanks to his ability, Nine shared her agony. She was very fearful and seemed to deliberate about something before her emotions hardened with determination. That night, she took the dog and brought him into her car, driving far away until she came to a stop in Manhattan.

Nine didn't understand what was happening. He'd never been outside the lab before, and now April was taking him out of the car and putting him on the sidewalk. Everything was so overwhelming, not only his alien surroundings but also the immense fear and sadness coming from April.

Kneeling down, she kissed his head, whispered goodbye, then got in the car and drove away. Nine sat, waiting for her to return, his anxiety growing the further she got away. He could feel his bond with her stretching thin and it was making him ansty. To make matters worse, he could feel her sadness slowly fading away into fear and anxiety. So, he got up and went after her, despite not knowing his way around the city.

It didn't matter a few minutes later, however. Through their bond, Nine felt April's emotions suddenly spike up in pure terror before the bond was brutally severed. The dog stumbled backwards, gasping in shock and pain. It felt like a part of his soul just died. There was this emptiness inside him, hollow and gaping, that his bond with April was supposed to be in. He gasped and whined in sorrow. He knew, he just _knew_ that she was dead. And he didn't need to be an empath to know it had something to do with those scientists she worked for.

For a long time after that, Nine wasn't sure what to do. He was a young dog, only a few months old, in a strange world he'd never been in before. Thankfully, there were many other stray dogs in Manhattan, some of which were willing to help guide him, so he soon learned how to survive as a stray. He still mourned April every day, and it took a long time for the gaping hole in his heart to stop aching so fiercely.

He spent the next few months roaming around the streets of Manhattan, snatching hotdogs from vendors and watching the city's inhabitants mill about. He learned a lot from watching and listening to the humans, learned what kind of world he lived in. Eventually he settled down in an old warehouse. It belonged to a man named Adrian Toomes, who seemed to run sort of salvage company. The warehouse was full of metal scraps and other large pieces of junk, which provided Nine with plenty of places to hide. He didn't interact with humans often, despite spending so much time watching them. Even though he missed human connection, he didn't want to risk bonding with another person. It hurt so much to lose April, he didn't know if he could handle that pain again.

Toomes did eventually find out about him. He poked his head under one of the machines one day and spotted the large black dog. Nine felt his surprise, which turned into curiosity and mild annoyance. However, the man was kind enough to leave him alone, only occasionally leaving out food for him to eat. For the most part, however, he ignored the dog.

That was fine by Nine. However, he only lived in the warehouse for a couple of months until aliens attacked Manhattan. He was safe in the warehouse, but once the battle was won Nine decided to find out what happened. Leaving the warehouse, he made his way through a severely damaged Manhattan and attempted to find a TV.

He noticed a group of humans gathered around the window of a restaurant and he approached them. They paid no mind to him and he followed their gaze to a TV behind the restaurant window displaying the news.

Nine learned that he wasn't the only one with strange abilities. These 'Avengers' seemed much more powerful than him, though. He briefly wondered if they had gotten their powers by being experimented on, but then dismissed the thought. Still, their heroic actions lingered in his mind and he idly wondered if he could somehow use his powers to help people.

After the Battle of Manhattan, he slowly but surely made his way out of Manhattan and moved into Queens. He didn't aim to go there, but the cleanup took awhile and brought the government uncomfortably close. Nine actively avoided getting in their way, especially after he stumbled upon an intense moment between Toomes and some government officials in one of the destroyed buildings. The dog didn't stick around long, but he could feel Toomes's fury at his salvage operation was being taken over.

So, Nine put Manhattan and all of it's troubles behind him and gradually moved away from the damage until he found himself in Queens a few months later.

He found himself liking Queens a lot more than Manhattan. There are more people there and the city is rich in diversity and culture. Nine enjoyed the years he spent there and moved to Brooklyn briefly, but the other borough was a bit too populated for him, so he soon moved back to Queens.

Nine had spent so long moving from place to place that when he first considered spending the rest of his life in Queens, the thought almost scared him.

But he liked this part of New York. It didn't carry the memories of his past like Manhattan did and it wasn't overpopulated like Brooklyn. He liked watching the children walk home from school and he liked watching friendly people interact. He'd even found some ways to be helpful to the civilians. He would pick up items that people dropped in the street and return it to them, he would let homeless people pet him and watch them smile, and he would play with children in the park. He especially liked occasionally finding a lost child and staying with them, protecting them, until their families found them a few hours later.

He loved seeing the parents' reactions when they reunited with their children.

It made him long for a family. He's met many pets over the years and they always seemed so happy and carefree. He could feel the love shared between the dogs and their owners and longed for something similar. He missed April, but more importantly he missed the love he felt from her.

Sometimes, he wondered why no one ever tried to bring him home with them. He interacted with lots of people during his time as a stray and he's always been kind, but no one ever did anything more than give him some food they happened to have on them. He assumed it must've been because of his size. He'd seen many different types of dogs and eventually he discovered that he was an Irish Wolfhound. Not many people would be willing to bring such a big stray dog into their household.

Currently, the hound is walking through the streets of Queens at night. It's relatively quiet and his claws make a clicking sound as they scrape the icy pavement when his paws touch the ground. He pauses by a frozen puddle and looks at it. His reflection stares back at him.

Despite being a large dog, he isn't much to look at. Years of living as a stray gives his black fur a dirty, scraggly appearance. He envies the clean, pampered dogs he sees walking with their owners during the day. As much as he loves his freedom, he really wishes he could take a bath. The dirt is nothing compared to the fleas, though.

Continuing on, he makes his way over to the alley he's been sleeping in the past couple of days. It's behind a hospital and has been quite cosy so far. The building is large enough to block out both the cold February wind and the loud ambulance sirens as they enter on the opposite side of the structure. There's a couple of dumpsters and Nine has taken to sleeping underneath one of them.

As he approaches his sleeping spot, he notices a flash of red streaking past above him. He pauses, glancing up. The figure is gone by now, but Nine knows what it was.

The person appeared a couple of months ago, roaming around in the evening in what looks like a red onesie. He's small but quick and apparently strong too. Nine has followed him a couple of times to discover that he spends most of his time helping random people. When Nine walks around the city during the day, he hears people talking about the red vigilante excitedly. It seems that they've named him Spider-Man.

From what Nine has seen of his powers, he figures it's a fitting name. However, he highly doubts that Spider-Man is actually a man. Everything about him, from his suit to his brief conversations with civilians that end up either on YouTube or the news, practically screams his youth.

Nine has even caught his scent a couple of times, enough for him to be able to recognize it. Unfortunately, there are many things to smell in Queens, so Nine has never been able to track him anywhere. Not that he's given much effort into trying in the first place.

Spider-Man is kind and makes the people of Queens happy, so if he wants his identity to be a secret then Nine doesn't care. Besides, what would _he _do with that information?

Looking away from the roof, the large dog crouches down and crawls underneath the dumpster and curls up. The cold weather makes it hard for him to rest, but eventually he manages to fall into a fitful slumber.

He's woken up abruptly in the morning by a banging sound above him.

Startling, he jolts upwards only to hit his head on the bottom of the dumpster. Wincing, he lowers his head and opens his eyes.

He sees two pale feet in flat shoes in front of him. They shuffle as the person they belong to picks up garbage bags from the ground and hauls them into the dumpster, creating the sound that startled Nine. Once all the bags are in the dumpster, Nine expects the person to leave, but instead they pause.

Suddenly, a face peeks underneath the dumpster. Pretty brown eyes meet his and the woman lets out a surprised sound.

"Oh!" She squeals, "Poor thing! What are you doing under there?"

Grunting, Nine crawls out from underneath the dumpster, causing the woman to take a step back. He feels her nervousness when she sees how big he is so he sits down calmly, looking at her with a tilted head. She smiles softly and stretches out her hand for him to sniff. He does, and when he gives her hand a soft lick after, his eyes dart to the name tag over her breast pocket.

_May Parker, _it reads.

The lick causes May to giggle and she pats his head. "Aww, you're a good boy," she says, "But don't go sleeping underneath dumpsters. You don't want to know what goes in here." She wrinkles her nose at the dumpster before shivering. "You'd better find a warmer place to sleep, honey," she says, her breath creating a cloud in front of her, "It's freezing out here."

The woman turns around and walks back towards the building. In the doorway, she pauses, glances back at him, and then disappears.

Nine watches her leave, his nose twitching. Something about her smells… familiar.

* * *

Nine keeps sleeping underneath the dumpster for the next couple of weeks. Every morning, and sometimes in the evening, May visits him for a few minutes and sometimes brings him little things to eat. She's very nice and Nine likes her, although he still can't pinpoint why she smells familiar. May seems to like him too and often laments about not being able to bring him home with her.

"Oh, you're such a good dog," she coos at him as she scratches his cheeks, "I'd scoop you up and take you home, but my husband is allergic to dogs. He sneezes a lot when I come home after petting you."

Nine can't help thinking that's too bad, because he wouldn't mind having May as his owner. She always has positive and bubbly emotions that only get brighter when she sees him. She's kind and funny and he looks forward to their meetings.

But just as soon as he gets used to her presence, she suddenly disappears.

Nine is a bit worried the first day, but figures that it's probably some holiday and she doesn't have to go to work. When he sees other people going to work, though, he frowns in confusion.

Days go by and she still doesn't show up. Nine is still worried but figures she might've taken a vacation. And if not, well, nothing in his life is really permanent. Perhaps he will never find out what happened to her. Still, her absence lingers in the back of his mind.

He considers maybe finding a new place to sleep would take his mind off of her. However, the day he decides to leave is the day May finally shows up again.

Nine perks up, hearing her footsteps approaching him. He crawls out from underneath the dumpster, his eyes bright and tail wagging. However, his excitement diminishes when he feels a wave of emotions coming from her.

Pure gut-wrenching sorrow emanates from her. When he sees her face, her brown eyes are red-rimmed and puffy and she sniffles occasionally. She looks like she's barely holding herself together, her body trembling slightly and her eyes full of grief. She looks at him sorrowfully before falling to her knees.

Nine rushes over to her, sniffing her uncertainly. She immediately wraps her arms around his shoulders and holds him tightly. Nine freezes, taken aback. To his horror, she begins softly sobbing into his fur. He sniffs her hesitantly, unsure of what to do.

'_What happened? Is she hurt?' _He wonders, '_Why is she so sad?' _

May just keeps crying, her fingers clenching his wiry black fur. It starts to become a bit uncomfortable after a few minutes, but he patiently waits it out. Eventually, her sobs begin to grow softer and her fingers unclench. She lightly scratches his fur as she sniffles for a few more minutes before pulling away and standing up. Nine watches her in confusion as she gives him a watery smile and stands up, pats his head, and goes back into the building.

The Wolfhound just stands there, bewildered. '_What could have made her so sad?'_

The crying doesn't stop there. For nearly two weeks, whenever May comes out to see him in the morning and occasionally the evening, she simply cries and hugs him. He's confused but always lets her. Petting him seems to soothe her and calm her down. She always leaves him with a watery but grateful smile.

When Nine leaves the dumpster during the day to wander around, he thinks about May. He knows she must've lost someone- he's very familiar with the emotions she's feeling. They were the same ones he felt when April died, although he didn't have anyone to comfort him. The thought makes him feel determined. _He _will be there for her to make her feel better, but there must be something more he can do than just sit and let her cry on him.

As he walks through the city, he passes by a dog park. Pausing, he glances up to watch the dogs and their owners playing with each other. The dogs yap happily as they bring balls and frisbees back to their masters, who grin and ruffle their fur before throwing the retrieved item again.

At the sound of a child's laughter, Nine tilts his head contemplatively. '_Play? Not a bad idea.'_

* * *

When May Parker exits the back of the hospital and enters the alley, Nine is ready for her. The moment the grieving woman spots him, he pads up to her and drops a dirty, worn tennis ball at her feet. She blinks in surprise, staring at the ball before looking back at him. His tail wags and he lets his tongue loll out of his mouth, gazing up at her hopefully.

Slowly, a smile creeps onto her face and she lets out a breathless laugh. Nine's tail wags again. Another small laugh follows, then another, and then May is on her knees and giggling, her arms wrapped around Nine's shoulders. She hugs him for a long moment, for once not crying, and he licks her on the face when she pulls away.

She snorts and wipes her face with her sleeve. For a few moments, she just looks at him, a mixture of happiness and sadness swirling in her gaze. Then, she seems to decide on something.

Standing up, she scratches his head and looks down at him fondly. "I think Peter needs you a lot more than I do," she says softly.

Nine tilts his head. '_Who's Peter?'_


	2. Chapter 2

Nine is confused when, instead of leaving him at the end of the day, May ushers him into her car. It's a small car for a large dog so he takes up the entire back seat area. As she drives, she keeps glancing back at him with a sort of tired but hopeful look in her eyes. Nine glances out the window, watching the city pass by.

'_Where is she taking me?'_ He wonders, '_Am I going to meet Peter? Who is he?'_

Sometimes, he wishes he was a telepath rather than an empath. He wishes he could read May's mind as she drives, but after a few minutes she comes to a stop.

May parks the car in front of a pet store. She gazes at him for a moment, looking contemplative. Nine can sense that she's feeling very unsure of herself, but hope is driving her on, so she rolls down the window a bit and leaves him in the car. Nine watches as she walks into the store and begins talking to one of the people inside. His heart sinks a bit.

'_Oh,' _he thinks, '_She must be trying to find a new place for me. She must've confused the pet store with an animal shelter.'_

May stays in the store for a long while. Eventually, Nine rests his shaggy head on his paws and lets out a long sigh. '_At least I can stay in the warm car for a bit.'_

After what seems like ages, he hears May returning. He looks up and blinks in surprise when he sees her carrying a few big bags. One of the employees is behind her carrying a large dog bed. As they open the trunk and begin filling it up, Nine scrambles to his paws. He may have never been adopted before, but he's no idiot. He knows that this means.

'_She's taking me home with her!' _He thinks, '_She's… adopting me?'_

Despite his anxiousness, his heart gives a little flutter of hope.

May thanks the employee and gets in the front seat. She turns and looks at him, smiling warmly. Reaching over, she slips a collar around his neck and clips it. Nine wags his tail. '_I've never had a collar before.'_

The drive back to May's place can't go by quickly enough. Soon, they park underneath an apartment building and get out. May struggles to carry all the bags and the dog bed and Nine wonders if it would seem too suspicious if he carried one of the bags in his mouth. In the end, she manages by herself and he follows her into the elevator.

As it moves up, she notices him watching her and grunts, "Oh my God, I didn't put your leash on! Ummph!" She nearly loses grip on the bed and pants, "I'm so glad you followed me. Good boy!"

Nine wags his tail and pads after her as she exits the elevator. They enter her apartment and May sets down all the stuff with a loud grunt. As she gathers herself, a voice calls out from within the apartment.

"Aunt May? Are you home?"

"Oh, yes, Peter! Come here, please!" May says excitedly, coming to stand next to Nine. The dog is standing not far from the door, simply looking around the apartment. It's small, but has a cozy feel to it. Nine notices pictures on the walls and on desks, some of which include May, a boy, and a man around May's age. When Nine sniffs the air, however, he only smells two strong scents. There's a third, but it's an old scent, as if the person no longer lives here.

'_Maybe that's who May lost,' _he thinks, glancing up when he hears footsteps coming down the hallway, '_This must be Peter, then.'_

A boy emerges into the living room. He looks young, probably fourteen or fifteen, and has brown hair and brown eyes. Said eyes widen when they see him.

"Surprise!" May exclaims.

"I don- is that- uh, what?" Peter stammers, staring at the dog, "Aunt May _what?_ What's happening?"

May scratches Nine's head and explains, "He's the dog that lived in the alley next to work. I told you about him, remember?"

Peter gives her an incredulous look. "The one that lived in the dumpster?"

May rolls her eyes and says, "Technically underneath it, but yes, that one."

"Okaaaayyy, so," Peter says slowly, "Why is he here?"

May falters a bit but continues, "I just thought, maybe, a dog would be good for us." She meets Peter's gaze and there seems to be a moment of silent communication. Peter's eyes grow a bit darker and Nine feels his mood drop. May quickly says, "I mean, he's been very good at cheering me up, especially in the past couple of weeks. And a dog would liven this place up a bit. You know I work long hours sometimes- he could keep you company."

"_May_," Peter sighs, but his gaze lingers on Nine. He's annoyed and resigned, but overall there's just an overwhelming sense of sadness coming from him. Not the horrible, gut-wrenching sadness that May feels, but something more heavy and exhausting. Still, the boy continues. "May, he's _huge_!"

"But _look at him_!" May coos, rubbing Nine's cheeks and ruffling his fur, "He needs a home and we can give him one!" Her words seem to soften Peter a bit, but he still looks unsure. May lowers her voice a bit and says soothingly, "Look, just give it a chance. If it doesn't work out, I'll make sure he finds a good home."

Peter is silent for a few moments. He gazes at Nine with a mixture of curiosity and bitter sorrow. Nine tilts his head. '_He probably misses May's husband. He called her aunt, so he must've lost his… uncle?'_ The dog glances at May and then back at Peter, '_Am I supposed to make him feel better? How?'_

Finally, Peter sighs, "Okay, fine… He _is_ pretty cute, I guess. What's his name?"

May brightens up at his acceptance and then looks down at Nine. "Oh, I haven't named him yet," she says. She opens her mouth as if to continue, but then she just looks back at Peter.

The boy's lip twitches. "He looks like Chewbacca."

May groans, "Oh, please don't name him that. Give him a nicer name."

Peter lets out a short huff of laughter and Nine wags his tail, sitting down. May grimaces and glances down at him. "First thing's first- he needs a bath," she declares.

"Uh oh," Peter snorts.

Nine, however, is thrilled. '_A bath! Finally!'_

May tells Peter to go fill up the bath while she gets the dog shampoo out of one of the numerous bags. Nine follows him and sits outside the bathroom patiently while the water is being filled up. The boy doesn't seem to notice him, but once he turns off the faucet, Nine brushes past him and steps into the water immediately. Peter steps back in surprise. "Whoa! Okay, he really likes water Aunt May!"

May walks into the bathroom, shampoo in hand, as Nine lies down in the water. She laughs and walks over to them, "Makes our job easier, then."

She and Peter kneel next to the tub and, together, begin lathering his body in soap and bubbles. Nine groans in appreciation, resting his head on the side of the tub. '_Pet life is off to a great start.'_

Peter looks at him approvingly. "He's pretty well-behaved for a stray," he comments.

"Yeah, I know," May agrees, "Well, he might've had an owner before. He looks like he's been on the streets for a long time, though." She scrubs at a particularly dirty patch on his lower back. "Still, we'd better check for a microchip when we take him to the vet, just in case. Thank God it's Friday- we can do everything we need to get him settled before work and school starts up again."

Peter nods and continues scrubbing silently. He has a contemplative look on his face, but before May can ask what he's thinking, he says, "Darwin."

Both dog and aunt glance at him.

"Like Charles Darwin," Peter explains, "I thought we should name him after a scientist or something. You know, instead of a Star Wars character…" He trails off, but May smiles.

"Darwin it is."

The newly-named Darwin wags his tail, nearly splashing May with water.

It takes many towels, Aunt May's blow-dryer, and about twenty minutes to get Darwin's fur dry. With all the dirt and grime removed, it's now more of a dark grey than black. The bathroom is a bit damp and smells like wet dog afterwards, but May says she'll clean it up tomorrow morning.

Then, she sets the food and water bowls out and fills them up. Darwin has never been able to afford being picky when it comes to finding food on the streets, but the kibble that May pours into his food bowl is one of the greatest things he's eaten in the past nine years.

As he gobbles it down, May walks into the kitchen and begins cooking dinner while Peter goes to do homework in his room. Darwin takes his time eating, savoring every bite, but soon the food bowl is empty and the water bowl quickly follows. The Wolfhound licks his snout and looks up, glancing around.

May appears to be frustrated with the recipe she's attempting to copy. Darwin considers approaching her, but his curiosity about the rest of the apartment calls him to explore.

It doesn't take him long to walk around the whole apartment, since it's rather small. Peter's room is the last one he visits and he gently noses the door open. The boy is at his desk, writing in a notebook with a big textbook next to it. He glances at him briefly as he enters, but he soon turns back to his homework so Darwin continues to quietly sniff around.

His room is small and cluttered with pieces of technology and knick-knacks. What puzzles Darwin is that the familiar scent he smelled on May and later Peter is even stronger here.

'_I must've smelled Peter before,' _he thinks, '_But where? Why do I remember this scent?'_

He snuffles at the unmade bed before glancing underneath it. In the corner, poorly hidden behind a stack of old books, is a red and blue onesie. Darwin recognizes it instantly.

'_Spider-Man!'_ He straightens up and glances at Peter, '_He's Spider-Man! That's why his scent was familiar- it's Spider-Man's scent! Oh my, he's even younger than I thought he'd be!'_

He then realizes that Spider-Man hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks. Usually he'd be out saving people everyday or every other day, but lately he's been missing. Darwin heard rumors spreading amongst the citizens, some wondering if he'd been seriously injured or dead.

Darwin tilts his head. '_Why'd you stop helping people? You made them very happy.'_

As he gazes at Peter, he notices the way the boy holds himself. He appears both tightly wound and completely exhausted at the same time. Even though he's focusing on homework right now, everything about him feels sad. Kind of like May was, but worse. It's like a silent type of sadness that doesn't show in tears but in stiff smiles and long silences. The dog did notice that, even though Peter smiled and laughed occasionally while bathing him with May, he always seemed as if he was holding himself back.

Darwin's heart aches for him. '_He's grieving over his lost uncle and the city expects him to be looking after them. But what about him?' _He thinks pityingly, '_He's just a boy.'_

Turning back, he crouches down and snags the costume out from under the bed. Peter glances at him and his eyes widen when he sees what he has in his mouth.

"Hey!" He hisses, diving forward and swiping the costume away from him, "Give that back!"

The sound of pots clanging in the kitchen startles them both. Peter glances over his shoulder and flicks his wrist. Darwin watches in awe as a line of spiderweb catches the edge of the door and gently swings it shut.

Peter feels irritated. "Don't take this out ever again!" He whispers angrily, "Aunt May can't find out about this, she'll kill me!"

Darwin watches as the boy glances around, seemingly searching for a new hiding spot, before literally hopping onto the ceiling. He crawls towards a small square in the ceiling and opens it up. Quickly stuffing the suit inside of the attic, Peter hops back down onto the ground and Darwin is impressed at how graceful and silent he is.

Peter huffs and returns to his homework. Curious, the large dog sits beside him and peers at his writing. Darwin, being more intelligent than the average dog, can read the difficult math equations that Peter is solving and it soon becomes obvious that Peter is extremely smart for his age. He glides through the math equations easily, his eyes bright and focused. Occasionally, they briefly dart over to him and Darwin wonders if a dog watching a teenage boy do his homework is suspicious.

Before he can consider doing something else, though, May's voice calls out, "Peter! Dinner's ready!"

"Coming, Aunt May!"

Peter closes his notebook and Darwin follows him out of the room. Dinner smells good, although a little burnt. Darwin doesn't quite know what to do with himself as Peter and May eat. He figures they wouldn't appreciate him sitting close and watching them eat, so he walks over to a couch and flops down onto it.

Peter notices him first and glances at May with a hint of worry. May raises an eyebrow in confusion and follows his gaze. Rather than getting mad, she giggles when she sees Darwin.

"Oh, look! He's so big, he takes up the whole couch!"

"I've never seen such a big dog before," Peter says, "Do you know what breed he is?"

May shakes her head. "No idea. I figured we could ask the vet, which reminds me- I went online while the pasta was cooking and made an appointment at a veterinary clinic not far from here. It's at 5PM tomorrow."

"I hope he behaves well," Peter says, "Ned used to have a dog and he said that she would freak out every time his mother took her to the vet."

May pouts and coos at Darwin, "No, he's a good boy, he'll be fine. He was very calm in the car and when we gave him a bath."

Peter hums but doesn't reply. They soon finish dinner and begin washing the dishes together. As they do, Peter glances at Darwin and says, "He can't have been a stray his whole life, he's too well behaved. Do you think he knows any tricks?" May shrugs and Peter turns to approach Darwin. "Darwin, here boy!"

The dog pulls himself off the couch and pauses in front of the teenager. May smiles. "He learned his name very quickly."

Peter nods and commands, "Sit."

Darwin sits.

Peter looks a bit surprised. The corner of his mouth twitches upwards and Darwin wags his tail.

"Lay down."

Darwin obeys, but Peter has to take a couple steps back because of the amount of space he takes up. May puts away the last plate and walks over to them.

"What a good boy!" She coos. Peter snorts at her puppy-talk voice. "Shake!"

Darwin sits up and holds his paw out. May takes it happily and squeals, "Oh my God, you better not have an owner because I'm already in love with you."

Darwin wags his tail and licks her chin. Since he's so tall and May's somewhat short, he doesn't even have to stand up, he just stretches his head up and licks her. May giggles and hugs his large head.

"I guess we should put his bed in your room, then," Peter says.

Darwin's bed does end up in May's room. It's a bit cramped and some of it ends up being slightly under her bed, but the dog doesn't mind. Peter finishes his homework after dinner and the three of them hang out in the living room together for a couple of hours, watching TV and chatting, before they decide to go to sleep.

Darwin still can't quite believe what's happening. Just this morning he was a stray sleeping underneath a dumpster and now he's been adopted, he's clean, he has a full stomach and a warm bed to sleep on. And, most importantly, he has a family. He isn't hesitant to consider them that already. It's obvious May adores him, and once Peter warms up to him he's sure that he and the boy will become good friends.

The Wolfhound recalls all the times he passed by dog parks and saw dogs playing fetch with or chasing around young boys. There's something special about that bond there, something that's different than the bond a dog would have with an adult human. The adults have already grown up, but the young boys are still trying to figure things out. And their canine companions are always there to help raise them, to help guide them through their childhood.

A sound interrupts his thoughts.

Darwin lifts his head and peers through the darkness. The sound returns, seemingly coming from another room. It sounds like whimpering.

Quietly, the dog gets out of bed and pads into the hallway. He walks into Peter's room, where the teenager sleeps fitfully on his bed. He's frowning and clutching his blankets tightly, distressed sounds escaping him.

As Darwin approaches, he feels sadness and terror coming from the boy, the emotions much stronger than before. He realizes the boy is crying in his sleep.

"B-Ben, no… please," Peter whimpers, "Please… help…"

Darwin doesn't know what compels him to do so, but he finds himself climbing onto Peter's bed a moment later. His weight makes the bed dip under his paws, but Peter somehow doesn't wake up. Carefully, Darwin lies down next to him and presses his side against Peter's body. The teenager seems to stir slightly at this and his hands unclench from the blankets. Darwin can't see Peter's face, but a few moments later his arms hesitantly wrap around his body and his hands tangle in his wiry fur. Peter's breathing evens out and soon the dog can tell he's fallen asleep. Slowly, he turns his head and glances at the boy's face. He's no longer crying. In fact, the faintest smile appears on his face.

'_I've never had a boy before,' _Darwin thinks as his heart softens, '_But I'm definitely going to keep this one.' _


	3. Chapter 3

Peter warms up to Darwin the next day.

He assumes what the boy truly needs is comfort. Peter slept soundly through the rest of the night with Darwin beside him. May was a bit surprised when she woke up and the dog wasn't in her room, but when she went searching throughout the apartment and found him in her nephew's room, she smiled at the sight of them curled up together. Darwin manages to sleep for a few hours, but it seems his body isn't quite used to having something soft to sleep on so he doesn't rest for as long as he would have liked. Regardless, he stays in Peter's bed until the boy wakes up late on Saturday morning.

Breakfast is mellow and quiet. Darwin eats his kibble while May and Peter eat their breakfast. He idly notices Peter's large bowl of cereal accompanied by two pieces of toast.

'_Growing boys must need a lot of food,' _he assumes.

After breakfast comes the walk.

Darwin isn't used to having a leash on him, but finds he doesn't mind it much. He's lived in Queens for many years anyway, so he doesn't feel the need to desperately sniff and pee on every inch of concrete he can reach. Peter and May are relieved when he doesn't pull on the leash but simply walks beside them. He imagines his size might intimidate them.

During the walk, they chat about their plans for the day.

"I finished my homework yesterday," Peter says, "I know I fell a bit behind after… well… but I've caught up now."

May smiles, a hint of sadness coming off of her, and scratches his the back of head. "That's great, honey," she says, "So, what do you want to do today? We haven't gone out much in the past couple of weeks, although we might not want to leave Darwin alone for very long since we just got him." She seems to add the last part as an afterthought.

Peter shrugs. "How 'bout we find a dog park, then?"

"Hmm," May hums, "It might be better if we leave that for tomorrow. Darwin should get checked by the vet before we let him run around with a bunch of dogs. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah."

Peter doesn't say anything after that, quietly watching Darwin as he sniffs at snow-covered fire hydrant. He seems to be contemplating something and May patiently waits for him to speak.

Finally, he asks, "Hey, Aunt May? Could I, uh, ask Ned if he wants to hang out?" At May's surprised expression, he quickly continues, "I mean, it's just, uh, we haven't hung out since- well, you know, and- and I figured it would be cool if he could meet Darwin and-"

"Peter, of course it's fine," May says, pleased, "What do you want to do with him?"

"He and I could take Darwin to the dog park," Peter suggests a bit nervously.

May, however, is clearly eager for her nephew to hang out with his friends like a normal teenager again. She instantly perks up. "That's a great idea! I could drop you guys off! And I'll get out of your way, I'll just-"

"No, no, Aunt May, you don't have to-"

"Don't worry, honey, it's fine, I probably have some errands to run anyway, you have fun with your friend!"

Peter feels like he wants to say more, but he's interrupted when they come across another dog owner walking their German Shepherd.

The dog is quick to approach Darwin and begin sniffing him. Darwin sniffs back politely, noting that her collar tag has the name Captain Snuffles.

'_What an odd name,' _Darwin thinks, suddenly grateful for Peter's good taste in names.

"Hey, I've smelled you around here before," Captain Snuffles rumbles as she sniffs Darwin's flank, "I thought you were a stray, though."

"I was," Darwin replies, "I just got adopted."

"Well, congratulations, then."

"Wow!" The man holding the German Shepherd's leash says, "And I thought _my _dog was big!"

May and Peter laugh. The man pats Darwin's head and moves to lead Captain Snuffles past them.

"Nice to meet you, Captain." Darwin begins to turn away, but the other dog's surprised voice stops him.

"How'd you know my name? I never introduced myself."

Darwin tilts his head and replies, "It's on your collar."

"You can read?"

'_Oops,' _Darwin thinks, realizing his mistake. Thankfully, Captain Snuffles' owner pulls her away and saves him from having to answer.

The rest of the walk is relatively uneventful, as is the rest of the morning and afternoon. May grabs his toys and plays with him for a bit, but the small apartment isn't a very good place for a woman and a large Irish Wolfhound to play tug-of-war. They play for about two minutes before Darwin's tail knocks a vase of flowers off the coffee table. Darwin has to settle for gnawing on some chew toys, which he doesn't mind.

They walk him one more time before going to the vet. It's a nicely-sized clinic and full of very nervous dogs. Darwin's never gone to the vet before and, admittedly, the obvious anxiety of the other dogs is a bit off-putting, but he's an adult so he forces himself to stay calm.

'_The dogs are only nervous because they don't know what's going on,' _he thinks, '_New experiences can be scary.' _

Despite his calm attitude, May still whispers to him soothingly and scratches his head. They don't have to stay in the waiting room for very long and soon they're led to an office where a vet named Dr. Martha Wade meets them.

She greets them and gets to work pretty quickly once they tell her that Darwin was a stray. The first thing she does is check for a microchip, and to May and Peter's relief he doesn't have one. Darwin is surprised too. He assumes the scientists never saw a need for one as it was highly unlikely he could have escaped the lab on his own.

His vitals are taken, Dr. Wade pokes and prods just about every part of his body, and she watches him walk around. While she's weighing him, May asks her, "So, do you think you can tell what kind of dog he is?"

"He looks like an Irish Wolfhound, maybe a Scottish Deerhound. The breeds look pretty similar, but the Wolfhound is bigger," Dr. Wade replies.

"Is, uh, he going to grow anymore?" May asks a bit nervously.

Dr. Wade smiles and shakes her head. "Don't worry, he looks like an adult to me. A bit on the older side, actually. He wouldn't be acting so calm if he were a puppy." When she looks back down at the scale, she frowns a bit and scribbles on her notepad. "Hmm, his weight is one hundred and twenty pounds, which is a bit low for his size, but that's understandable given he was a stray."

Peter's eyes widen and May lets out an incredulous squawk.

Dr. Wade laughs at their reaction and adds, "He's thirty six inches tall at the shoulder. Try to get his weight closer to one hundred and fifty pounds."

"Geez, this dog's gonna be heavier than me," Peter says exasperatedly, "36 inches, that's like 3 feet tall, right?"

"See, that doesn't sound very tall, but it surprisingly is," May snorts, "And that's not even including his head!"

The veterinarian laughs at their antics. "The biggest Irish Wolfhound I've ever met was thirty eight inches tall and one hundred and eighty pounds." May wheezes and she continues, "By the way, they need a high-protein diet, so I can show you some good dog food brands later, but how 'bout we get some bloodwork and vaccinations first, yes?"

Dr. Wade draws his blood first. Darwin patiently lets her hold his foreleg and stays still while she sticks the needle in. May and Peter huddle close together behind the vet and watch. When Darwin looks at them, May grins and gives a little wave, making the dog huff.

"I swear, I've never seen a dog act so calm while getting his blood drawn," Dr. Wade says in a deadpan voice as she stares at the needle, "He's not even whining."

Peter giggles a bit. "He kinda just looks confused. He's like 'okay, but why?'."

'_It's not like I haven't done this before,' _Darwin thinks, glancing at the needle.

The two women laugh and Dr. Wade finishes taking his blood. She gives him a couple of vaccinations afterwards and advises May to bring him back a few weeks later for some more. She also gives her a list of high-protein dog foods for him.

He gets a treat when they leave, which is nice, and he takes a short nap on the ride back home. However, he doesn't miss May whispering, "One hundred and fifty." Nor does he miss Peter's quiet snickering.

It's around 6:30pm when they get back to the apartment. May starts cooking dinner and Darwin follows Peter as he walks into his room. The teenager takes out his phone and sits on his bed, feeling a bit anxious. He taps on the screen a few times but then hesitates.

Sensing his distress, Darwin pads over to him and puts his head on his lap. '_Don't worry.'_

Peter smiles a bit and gently runs his fingers through his fur with one hand. With his other hand, he hits the call button.

Darwin hears the phone ring a couple of times before a young voice answers, "Peter?"

"H-hey, Ned," Peter greets. Darwin can hear his heart fluttering and feel his nervousness. The boy swallows and then says, "Hey, I know we haven't really hung out, um, you know, in the past couple of weeks but, I, uh, was wondering if-"

"Oh my God, yes- yeah, totally!"

Peter stifles a laugh. "I didn't even finish asking if you wanted to hang out."

"Doesn't matter, man, whatever you wanna do, I'm down!"

This time, Peter does laugh. Darwin's tail wags. '_I like this Ned already,' _he thinks.

"Well, in that case," Peter says, "May came home with a dog yesterday."

Whatever Ned was expecting Peter to say, that was not it. "A dog," he asks, sounding bewildered.

"Yeah, this huge dark grey Irish Wolfhound. He was a stray, so we took him to the vet today, but he's really well-behaved. I wanted to see if you wanna come to the dog park with us tomorrow."

"Wow, that's awesome, man!" Ned sounds excited, "I can't wait to meet him! What's his name?"

"Darwin. Like Charles Darwin, you know?"

"Sick."

"I wanted to name him Chewbacca at first but May said no," Peter adds, ruffling Darwin's fur affectionately.

"That would've been cool too, but- holy shit!" Ned suddenly exclaims, "I just Googled pictures of Irish Wolfhounds and oh my God they are huge! How do you fit him in your apartment?"

Peter chuckles. "It's kind of a tight fit, but thankfully he's a bit of a couch potato. Although Aunt May tried playing tug-of-war with him earlier and his tail knocked a vase off the coffee table."

"Sounds like he could use a big park to run around in, then."

"Yeah, Aunt May said she could pick you up and drop us off there. Is noon okay?"

"Yup, I'll ask my mom but she'll probably say yes," Ned says. There's a moment of silence between the two, and then Ned adds softly, "I'm glad you called, man. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya," Peter says and then hangs up the phone. He looks down at Darwin, who still has his head on the boy's lap. "Well, that actually went pretty well. Be nice to Ned tomorrow, alright? I mean, you're nice to everyone, but Ned's my best friend, so be extra nice to him."

In response, Darwin licks his hand.

Later that night, long after dinner is over and May and Peter have just gone to bed, Darwin stays awake and listens for sounds of distress in Peter's room. Soon enough, the boy begins whimpering and crying in his sleep. Darwin glances at May briefly before getting up and going over to his room. He's noticed that May also becomes sad when she goes to bed, her gaze lingering on the empty half, but she seems to be content with clutching a large pillow against her body.

He decides that Peter needs him more.

Once again, he hops in the boy's bed and lies next to him. Peter doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around him this time. He falls asleep faster than the night before.

Darwin sighs happily and closes his eyes. '_I could get used to this.'_

* * *

**Btw this story can be found on Ao3. I primarily post on there now and I interact with my readers more there. Also I usually update first there. **


	4. Chapter 4

"Honestly, I might as well just put Darwin's bed in your room," May says to Peter during breakfast on Sunday morning, "It's clear he doesn't want to be with me." She mock-glares at Darwin before turning up her nose huffily.

Peter snorts, "Yeah, best to bring his bed over to my room before he starts thinking my bed is his. A twin is definitely not big enough to fit me and a giant dog."

May smiles and sips her coffee. After a moment, she says nonchalantly, "He does seem to comfort you, though. You look more rested than I've seen you in a while."

Peter's lip twitches and he shrugs. "Yeah, well… he's… calming, I guess."

"And snuggly." May gives a cheeky grin.

Peter rolls his eyes. "And snuggly."

After breakfast, Peter grabs his backpack and starts putting some of Darwin's toys in it. He also grabs a water bottle and a small plastic bowl. Then, after quickly texting Ned that he's on his way, he puts on Darwin's leash and follows his aunt out of the apartment.

They let Darwin do his business outside, but don't go on a full walk with him since he's about to go to the park. The car ride to Ned's apartment is pretty short and soon they stop in front of a large building with a boy around Peter's age standing in front of it.

Peter steps out to greet his friend, bringing Darwin with him so they can get acquainted.

"Hey, man," Peter says, walking over with his dog's leash in hand.

Ned's eyes widen comically. "Wow, he's even bigger in person. I feel like you could ride him into battle or something."

Peter laughs while Darwin steps forward politely and sniffs Ned. The teenager looks nervous for a second and tentatively pats his head. The Wolfhound, remembering to be extra nice, licks his hand, making him laugh.

"Wow, he's really friendly," Ned says, scratching behind Darwin's ears.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool," Peter agrees and Darwin feels a hint of pride coming from him. He turns back to the car. "I brought a bunch of toys with us so we can play fetch or something."

"Nice."

They come across a bit of a problem when they get in the car. Peter is in the front passenger seat, leaving Ned to go in the back with Darwin. However, the dog's long forelegs end up having to go over the boy's lap. Peter offers to switch seats with him but Ned insists that it's fine and instead starts petting Darwin's head.

'_Heh, win-win,' _Darwin thinks as his ears get scratched.

Ned and Peter chat throughout the entire ride. To the dog's delight, Peter is clearly genuinely excited and happy to be hanging out with his friend. They both talk a mile a minute, chatting about school, Legos, Star Wars, and other geeky stuff. Darwin can hardly keep up with the conversation, so he zones out, instead watching the city go by through the window.

As promised, May drops Peter and Ned off at the park before going off to "run errands". It's a very obvious excuse, but Darwin doesn't pay any mind to it since he's busy taking in the dog park.

He's passed by many dog parks during his time as a stray, but this time he's actually going _in _one, and not as a stray but as a pet. He's a bit daunted, actually. He knows he shouldn't care about what the other dogs think about him, but at the same time he wants to be a good pet for Peter. But he's never done this before, how is he supposed to be a good pet?

Thankfully, Peter takes the lead. He enters the gated dog park and, once the gate is closed behind them, takes Darwin's leash off.

"Okay, go on, boy!" Peter says, making a shooing motion with his hands.

Darwin glances at the dogs running around and then back at the boy.

Ned laughs, "He looks kinda clueless. He's like, 'uh, now what?'"

Peter takes off his backpack and opens it. "Maybe he just wants to play a bit first?" He takes out a frisbee and throws it. "Fetch!"

Now, _this_ Darwin can do. He's always wanted to try playing fetch after seeing so many pets do it with their owners. He instantly races after the flying disk, his long legs carrying him over the frosty ground easily. Peter has a good arm, apparently, because Darwin nearly runs through half the park before catching the frisbee. Panting, he turns around and runs back over to Peter and Ned.

"He's really fast!" Ned exclaims as he approaches, "Also, good throw man. Can I try?"

"Sure," Peter says, taking the frisbee from Darwin and giving it to Ned.

Ned's throw is shorter, but Darwin races after it with the same fervor. '_Wow, I finally understand why pets like doing this so much,' _he thinks as he leaps into the air to catch the frisbee, '_This is fun!'_

He almost crashes into another dog when he lands and stammers an apology. The dog hardly minds him, completely focused on catching the ball his owner threw.

Peter and Ned take turns throwing the frisbee for about half an hour. They chat while they do and Darwin is happy to see the constant smile on Peter's face.

'_I think he just needed to get out of the house,' _Darwin thinks as he trots back to the boys, '_Judging from May's reaction, he must've been spending his days holed away in his room after Ben died. He needs distractions, and I am happy to be one.'_

Thanks to his increased stamina, he could keep doing this for hours, but he doesn't want Peter to become suspicious. So, he drops the frisbee at Peter's feet and then sits down on the ground to show that he's tired. Peter pats his flank heartily.

"Good boy, Darwin," he says before glancing at Ned, "I think he's tired."

"Finally," Ned says, stretching his arm.

A voice suddenly calls out, "Look out!"

The three turn to see a ball bouncing their way, followed by a pack of five dogs chasing it. Peter dodges the ball, but the dogs swarm past them and nearly knock him over. Jumping to his paws, Darwin lets out a volley of barks at the passing dogs, but by the time he does they're already gone.

"Woah," Peter says, regaining his balance, "That was close!"

"Did you hear Darwin's bark?" Ned exclaims, "It was so deep and loud, like 'BOOF'!"

Peter snorts, "Yeah, only big dogs go boof."

"I'm glad he didn't do anything more, though," Ned says, "I was worried for a sec, he looked seriously ticked off when that one dog nearly knocked you over."

"Apparently I have a guard dog now."

Peter puts the frisbee away and pours some water in the bowl for Darwin. Ned smiles and sighs, "Man, that would be really cool. Like, if you could make him like an official guard dog or service dog, you could bring him to school and stuff. Flash would take one look at him and never bother you again!"

"I'm pretty sure it would be suspicious if I suddenly needed a service dog," Peter says, "I think I come off as able-bodied. Besides, Aunt May would never allow me to lie like that."

Ned ponders for a moment, then suggests, "What about an emotional support dog, then? Those are becoming more of a thing nowadays. Didn't you say he comforts you?"

"An emotional support dog would just give Flash all the more reason to tease me," Peter points out. Ned hums and agrees.

Darwin narrows his eyes. '_Who is Flash and why is he teasing my boy?' _He makes a mental note to resolve that problem later.

The park is a good size, so walking around it takes about half an hour. They occasionally greet dogs that come over to sniff either Darwin or the two teenagers, but for the most part Ned and Peter just talk.

"Dude, you could totally have Darwin cosplay as Chewbacca," Ned says when they talk about Comic-Con.

Peter's eyes widen and he grins. "Oh my God, I totally could. I could be Han Solo and he could be my Chewbacca!"

The boys laugh and Darwin rolls his eyes. '_I do not look like that hairy beast,' _he thinks indignantly. Even though he hasn't watched any movies before, it's impossible for him to have not heard of Star Wars, even as a stray. He's seen his fair share of cosplayers and merchandise to get the picture. Still, he'd be willing to indulge for Peter.

He has to stop walking abruptly when a Husky runs over and catches a ball mid-air in front of him. The dog glances at him and wags his tail, coming over to sniff him.

"Hey, w'nna pway?" He asks, his voice muffled by the ball in his mouth.

Darwin shakes his head. "No thanks, I'm already tired out."

The Husky glances at Peter and drops the ball. He gives Darwin a knowing look and wags his tail. "I totally get it. I remember when my owner was a teenage boy." He nods at a young man a few feet away. "They never run out of energy when they're that age. I'm LandShark, by the way."

"LandShark?" Darwin blinks at the odd name. "I'm Darwin. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Be sure to give your boy lots of exercise. I suggest stealing his socks and running around the house with them. Never gets old." The dog gives a friendly wag of his tail before picking up the ball again and running off.

"You making friends, Darwin?" Peter says, walking up to the Wolfhound.

Darwin glances at his socks contemplatively before looking away, continuing to walk.

After a few minutes, Peter tells Ned, "Aunt May is asking if we want to get lunch."

Ned shrugs. "Sure. We've been here for like an hour anyway. Darwin seems to have had enough fun."

"Okay, Aunt May's gonna pick us up soon, then."

"Sweet."

Aunt May is very excited when she picks them up soon after. She gets out of the car as the trio approach and holds out something metal.

"Look what I got while you guys were at the park!"

Peter takes the piece of metal from her and peers at it along with his friend. It's shaped like a bone and reads: Darwin Parker. If lost, call the number below.

"Nice!" Peter says, grinning at May. His aunt beams, but her eyes widen when she looks at Darwin and the dog feels a jolt of surprise come from her.

"Why isn't his leash on?" She asks.

Peter blinks and looks at Darwin. It seems both he and Ned forgot to put it back on before they left the park.

"Oh my God, I totally forgot!" Peter exclaims, quickly hooking it to Darwin's collar, "He was just walking around with us for a while that I didn't even realize…" He pauses and then hooks the dog tag to Darwin's collar as well.

May doesn't look very upset. She just shrugs and shakes her head with a small smile on her lips. "Well, he doesn't seem like the type of dog to run off anyway. We should keep him leashed while we walk him for the first couple of weeks, but to be honest I think he'd stay by your side without it."

"That'd be cool," Ned says, "Whenever I see someone walking their dog without a leash I'm just like 'man, what a loyal dog'. My old dog would always pull at her leash on walks as if she was trying to escape me."

The three laugh before getting into the car. Peter tells his aunt about the park and playing fetch with Darwin. They drive around for a bit until they park in front of a restaurant. As soon as the car door opens, Darwin's nose twitches at the delicious scent coming from the place.

'_Mmm,' _he thinks as his mouth waters, '_Burgers.'_

Peter and Ned get a table outside and wait with Darwin while May goes inside to order food. It doesn't take very long for her to return with a tray full of burgers and fries. They start eating in front of Darwin, biting into their burgers and making noises of appreciation.

Darwin simply stares at them. Since he's big, his head is above the table and directly in their line of view.

May makes the mistake of glancing at him and nearly chokes. "Oh my God, Darwin, don't give me that look," she protests, "Burgers aren't good for you!"

"They aren't good for us, either," Peter mumbles as he starts on his second burger. Ned snorts.

Darwin whines in response.

May curses under her breath and turns away from him, determined not to look at him for the rest of her meal. Darwin turns to Peter, knowing he'll have an easier time getting food from the boy.

Sure enough, he double checks that May isn't looking before giving him a couple of fries. Darwin devours them gratefully. For the next ten minutes Peter and Ned take turns sneaking Darwin french fries until they're all done with their meal.

Once they're back in the car, Darwin rests his head on Ned's lap and licks the salt off of his furry snout.

'_I like teenagers.'_

* * *

Peter has to go to bed early since tomorrow is a school day. When he says goodnight to his aunt, Darwin gets up as well. Instead of following the boy to his room, however, he walks into May's room and grabs his large pillow of a bed. It's a bit difficult to drag it to Peter's room without knocking into anything, but he manages. It's worth the laugh he gets from Peter when he sees him walking backwards into his room, dragging the bed behind him.

"He's abandoning you, Aunt May!" Peter calls out.

May peeks into his room and pretends to scoff. She pats Darwin before kissing her nephew's forehead. "Good night, sweetheart."

After Peter goes to bed and the lights are off, Darwin almost thinks Peter won't actually need him tonight. The boy doesn't cry himself to sleep and actually falls asleep quickly. Letting himself relax, Darwin closes his eyes and soon slips into unconsciousness.

When he wakes up, Peter's alarm clock reads 3AM. He wonders what woke him and glances at Peter. The teenagers eyes are wet and glistening in the dark, but he's not making any noise. Instead, his arm is dangling over the side of his bed, his fingers reaching towards the dog.

Immediately, Darwin crawls closer and lets them curl into his fur. Peter pets him gently for a few minutes before his breathing evens out once more, his hand remaining on his dog's side.


	5. Chapter 5

Even though Peter didn't cry much the previous night, he's still more withdrawn on Monday morning. Darwin can tell that the boy feels more sad than the previous day, not like he's about to cry, but just kind of tired and glum. May clearly notices, but she doesn't do much besides giving him pitiful smiles and long hugs. Darwin isn't sure she knows how to help Peter with his grief while also dealing with her own.

'_This is where I step in, then,' _he thinks.

He dutifully stays by Peter's side the entire morning, making sure he's always available for Peter to pet when he wants. Peter scratches him a few times but doesn't do much more than that. Darwin even goes as far to even put his head on the boy's lap while he eats breakfast, but Peter doesn't really appreciate that and pushes him away.

Then May's grabbing her purse and Peter's grabbing his backpack and they're out the door.

"Bye, Darwin," May says, "We'll be back later. I left plenty of toys out for you to play with so you don't get bored."

The door shuts and Darwin blinks.

'_Huh,' _he thinks, '_I did not think about this part.'_

As soon as they leave, he begins getting an odd feeling in his chest. He doesn't know what it is and it's faint enough for him to ignore it, so he does. He glances around the apartment, wondering what to do. As a stray, he had much more stimulation during the day, walking around the city and scrounging for food. But now he doesn't have to worry about food, he just has to worry about his boy.

Peter's dejected expression floats into his mind and he shakes his head. '_Well, this isn't happening!'_

He considers his means of escape. Even without thumbs, he could probably figure out how to unlock the door and walk out, but he wouldn't be able to lock it again without a key and would risk a burglary. Peter used to sneak out all the time when he would go out as Spider-Man, so there must be another way. Padding back into the bedroom, he peers at the window on the far wall.

'_Bingo.'_

He jumps onto the bed and gazes at the latched window. It takes a couple of minutes of gnawing and scratching at it before he can get it unlocked. Then, he noses it the rest of the way open. He hops out the window and onto the fire escape, the metal cold and harsh under his paws. He manages to drag the window down and close it slightly, but leaves a crack so that, if he needs to come back, he can nose it open again. Then, he carefully climbs down the rickety steps.

When he reaches the bottom, the odd feeling in his chest catches his attention again. He frowns. It feels… familiar.

Realization hits him like a truck.

'_I've formed a bond with Peter!' _Darwin thinks, '_Already? I've only known him for a few days- I haven't even formed a bond with May and I've known her longer! How?'_

It's been so long since he's had a bond with a human that he didn't recognize the feeling at first. But sure enough, it's the same feeling he would get when April left him, albeit not as intense. Darwin has no doubt that the feeling will get stronger the more time he spends with Peter.

The dog straightens up, now even more determined to find Peter's school. '_I'm not going to spend hours in pain every day while Peter's away at school. Not this time. Not when I can do something about it.' _

He decides to follow where the bond pulls him to, figuring it'll get softer the closer he gets. Turning, he makes his way out of the alley.

It's nice to be out again. As much as he appreciates the apartment, he'll never lose his love for the freedom that life as a stray gave him. The cold doesn't bother him much as he sets out at a brisk trot, appearing to all that see him as a dog that's clearly on a mission. A few other strays and even a couple of pets recognize him and greet him, but he only nods politely in return and continues.

It takes a little over an hour to reach the school. It's a very beautiful and pristine building with a large football field next to it. It's gated, of course, but the entrance is always open during the day for cars and buses to drive into or out of the parking lot. Darwin enters through here and approaches the steps leading to the doors of the building.

He knows it's not a good idea to go inside the school by himself, but he's content to wait for Peter outside. He glances around for a place to sit. There's grass nearby, but it's cold and damp from February's frost. The stairs, however, are flanked by thick concrete railing that look like they could hold a dog.

Padding up the steps, Darwin jumps up onto a flat part of the railing, closer to the actual building, and sits down.

He has a nice view of the football field from here. It stays empty for the first couple of hours, but then the track team comes and starts running around. Darwin watches them idly, laying down and resting his head on his paws. Eventually, they leave, but are quickly replaced by the football team. Darwin has never understood the appeal of this particular sport and he's glad his boy isn't a reckless jock like the ones he's watching.

As he waits, his mind travels back to his earlier discovery. Despite his previous anxiety, his newfound bond with Peter doesn't bother him as much as he thought it would. It's kind of… nice. Peter is nice, Peter is special- he can tell that already. It just spooked him because it's been so long since he's had a bondmate. He shudders at the painful memory of losing April and the emptiness in his chest that lasted for months afterwards.

'_That won't happen again, not on my watch. I can do better this time! I'm not just some puppy trapped in a cage, I'm a full grown dog and I am going to protect my boy.'_

The loud ring of the schoolbell startles him. Almost immediately, teenagers start pouring out of the building and down the staircase. Funnily enough, they're in such a rush to get out of school that the majority of them don't even notice the large Irish Wolfhound laying on the concrete railing and watching them with a bemused expression. They're too busy staring down at their phones, chatting with their friends, or both.

'_Kids and their technology,' _he thinks, rolling his eyes.

Darwin watches the crowd go by, keeping alert for any signs of Peter. He appears soon, but like the rest of the teens, doesn't notice him. He's already at the bottom of the stairs by the time Darwin gets to his paws.

A girl next to him squeaks in surprise at the movement and stares at him with wide eyes. Once one person notices him, others quickly follow and soon there's a small group of people staring at him.

"Whoa, where did he come from?"

"Has he been there the whole time?"

"Look at him- he's huge!"

"Is he a stray?"

"No, look, he has a collar."

Ignoring them, Darwin hops off the railing and pads towards Peter. Another person seems to be following his boy too.

"Where you running off to, Penis Parker?" The person jeers, his two friends flanking him laughing.

Peter falters slightly, but continues on, his eyes on the ground. "Not today, Flash," he warns, but sounds resigned.

Darwin narrows his eyes. '_So, this is Flash.' _

Flash and his cronies continue following Peter, teasing him and snickering. Darwin quickly trots over them as Peter turns around and glares at the other boy.

It's odd seeing Peter's face devoid of emotion. It looks like he had a rough day; his hair is unkempt, like he's been running his hands through it repeatedly, and his eyes are slightly red and puffy as if he cried earlier. Not to mention the aching sadness and pain he's projecting onto Darwin.

"Seriously, Flash," he practically growls, "Not today."

Flash looks a little surprised at Peter's aggression, but before he can retort, Darwin lets out a loud bark. Flash jumps and whirls around, staring at him in shock. Behind him, Peter's eyes widen.

His deep bark also catches the attention of other schoolgoers, a few stopping to watch the scene unfold. Darwin glares at Flash and bites back a growl.

"What the hell is that?" The boy exclaims.

"Darwin?" Peter asks, bewildered, "How did you get here?"

Darwin pads over to his side and sits down, still glaring at Flash.

Flash's surprise fades and he sneers, "Darwin? What kind of stupid name is that? And since when do you have a dog?"

"Since Friday," Peter answers simply, already turning around. Flash scoffs and moves as if to continue following him, but Darwin bares his teeth in a silent warning. The teenager eyes him warily and even his cronies look nervous. In the end he just rolls his eyes, mutters a 'come on' to his friends, and leaves. Satisfied, Darwin turns around and trots after Peter.

The boy doesn't look back, keeping his eyes on the ground and walking purposefully. The Wolfhound follows him silently, wondering where they're going. Once they're about a block away from school, Peter turns into an empty alleyway, walks about halfway in, and then stops.

His breathing is ragged and erratic and he has his eyes squeezed shut. He even lets out a tiny whimper and Darwin gazes at him worriedly, sitting down in front of him. He gives his hand a lick and that seems to do the trick. Dropping down to his knees, Peter clings to Darwin and buries his face in his fur. He seems to struggle to get his breathing under control, gasping for air and letting out small whines. The dog can feel the boy's heart beating rapidly against his chest and the turmoil of emotions he's projecting.

'_Is he having a panic attack?' _he thinks, '_I am going to kill that Flash!'_

He figures the best he can do is let Peter cling to him and lick him occasionally. It takes a few minutes, but eventually Peter's fingers relax their grip on his fur and he slowly pulls away. As he does, Darwin licks his face, making him let out a short laugh.

"Thanks," he says, still sounding a bit choked up. He rocks back on his heels until he's sitting on the ground. For a few moments, he simply breathes slowly and Darwin rests his head on his knee supportively.

'_He needs help,' _he thinks, gazing at the boy, '_He needs therapy. How am I going to get him to tell May, though?' _

The dog doesn't have long to ponder about it, though, because soon Peter is standing up. He's a bit shaky, but he doesn't look like he's about to fall over. He is giving Darwin a contemplative look, however, but after a moment he simply smiles and pats his head.

"Thanks, bud," he expresses his gratitude once more before asking, "How the hell did you get out of the apartment, though? How'd you know where to find me?"

Darwin sneezes in response.

"Well, I'd better take you home. Aunt May's probably wondering where I am, anyway." Peter takes out his phone and, sure enough, he has three texts and two missed calls from his aunt. He calls her back as he walks out of the alley.

"Hey, Aunt May," he says when she answers.

Thanks to his canine hearing, Darwin can hear the woman's voice through the phone. "Peter?" she asks, "Are you okay? Where are you? You know I always want you to text me when you get home."

"Sorry, Aunt May," Peter says, walking towards the subway, "I got, uh, a little sidetracked. But I'm on my way back now."

"Are you okay, honey? You sound a little rough."

Peter glances at the ground and replies, his voice a bit more withdrawn, "Yeah, I'm fine, just… had kind of a rough day, I guess."

May is silent for a few moments. "Do you want me to come home? I only have a couple more hours, but-"

"No, no, Aunt May, it's fine," Peter says quickly, "Actually, Darwin helped me."

"What? Darwin?"

"Yeah, he showed up at my school." At May's noise of surprise, Peter says, "Yeah, my reaction exactly. He was just waiting for me and he, uh, ya know, cheered me up a bit, I guess. It's crazy that he knew how to get to school."

"Well, he was a stray for a while," May suggests, "He probably knows the city pretty well. You don't have his leash with you, right?"

"No," Peter replies, glancing down at Darwin who's padding by his side, "But he's walking with me. I don't think he even needs a leash, to be honest."

May hums and falls quiet. After a moment, she asks, "Are you really okay, sweetheart?" It seems like she wants to ask more, but she doesn't say anything else.

Peter hesitates too, glancing at Darwin again. Looking at the dog seems to reassure him and he takes a deep breath, replying in a soft voice, "I will be. I'll text you when I get home." He says goodbye and hangs up on her.

True to his word, he does text her when he and Darwin get back to the apartment after a short subway ride. Despite Darwin comforting him earlier, he still seems withdrawn, his eyes downcast as he trudges to his room to do homework. Darwin follows him and keeps his head on his lap the entire time, despite his stomach growling from missing lunch.

When May comes home around 6PM, she's carrying a large plastic bag. Concerned eyes dart to Peter's room and she calls out, "Peter! I'm home! And I brought take-out from your favorite Chinese restaurant!"

That does seem to perk Peter up a bit, at least enough to get him to leave his homework and walk into the living room. "Thanks, Aunt May," he says, giving her a small smile.

May hugs him. He hugs back after a moment. She asks him about school as they set up the table. He gives short, simple responses. As they eat, she tries to ask him about his friends, but when he doesn't say much, she starts talking about work. There are long, stiff pauses in which they both just eat and don't say anything, don't even look at each other.

Darwin watches the whole interaction and realizes two things. One: May does not like confrontation. She dances around the real problem with pointless small talk. She practically begs for the truth from Peter with her eyes, but never actually pushes him, never asks what's wrong even when it's blatantly obvious. It's probably one of the reasons she brought Darwin home; to have someone solve the problem without her actually having to face it.

The second thing he realizes is that both of them are ignoring the elephant in the room. That panic attack in the alley could not have been the first. Peter needs help and he knows it. May knows it too. And yet neither of them talk about it. And so the problem goes unsolved.

Darwin lets out a heavy sigh. '_Now what am I going to do about this?' _

He finishes his dinner quickly and pads over to their table. He slips his head under and puts it on Peter's lap. The boy's hand finds his head and begins scratching.

Darwin's appearance seems to give May a new topic to talk about.

"So, you said Darwin showed up at your school?" She asks, "That must've been a surprise."

"Mmm hmm."

Pause.

"So… you said he cheered you up a bit. That's good."

"Yeah."

May wants to ask more. Peter wants to ask more. But neither of them say anything.

'_I just have to get one of them to start talking,' _Darwin thinks, '_Then the other will follow.' _

Darwin lifts his head and stares at May while Peter picks at his food. She's worried stiff, gazing at her nephew with a longing yet unsure expression. Darwin meets her gaze, glances at Peter, then back at her. He tries to pour as much emotion into his eyes as he can. '_Please, just ask him,' _he thinks imploringly, '_Don't be afraid.'_

May takes a deep breath and looks away, lowering her eyes to her plate. Darwin sighs. To his surprise, however, she stammers, "So, uh, why didn't you head home right away?"

Peter is silent for a moment. Then, he shrugs, "Just, you know, got caught up."

May looks discouraged. Darwin leans against Peter's chair and puts his head down on the table next to his hand.

Finally, she seems to gather her courage and asks softly, "Is everything alright, honey?" When Peter glances up at her, a hint of surprise on his face, she adds, "It's okay, you can tell me anything."

Peter stares at her for a few moments. Then, he blurts out, "Can we get Darwin registered as a service dog?" He snaps his mouth shut, as if he didn't mean to say that out loud.

May blinks in surprise. "A service dog?"

"Or like an emotional support dog," Peter stammers quickly, "It's just, I- well, sometimes I just, I don't know, I just get a lot of anxiety over everything- or just sad, I don't know, ever since Ben- I mean, I-"

"Whoa whoa, Peter, honey, slow down," May says soothingly, raising her hands a bit. Once Peter quiets a bit, she asks, "Why do you want an emotional support dog?"

Peter curls in on himself a bit, looking down at his plate. It takes him a moment, but eventually he whispers, "I don't know why, but ever since… ever since Ben died… I don't know, everything's just been so hard. I'm sad all the time, even when I should be happy- I want to be happy, it's just…" He sighs, looking exhausted. "... And even before Ben, I've always had some level of anxiety, but, like, I could manage it pretty well, but now with… _this _on top of that, I just- I can't handle it by myself…"

May gazes at him with sorrow, but also relief in her eyes. Relief that he's finally talking to her about this.

Peter hesitates to continue. Darwin puts his head in his lap comfortingly and Peter automatically starts petting him. Takes a deep breath. Continues, "... And after school today, I went into an empty alleyway and… I don't know what happened. I mean, it's happened a couple of times before, but… It's like I just felt everything all at once. I felt like I couldn't breathe. But- but Darwin… he helped me. He just, like, knew what to do and I hugged him and pet him and I calmed down. So… yeah. I just figured- if he was an emotional support dog or something, then I could take him with me to places and- well, I don't know about that because I don't know the laws in regards to emotional support dogs in public places- I think it might be different than service dogs, but-"

"Peter, Peter," May interrupts with a small smile on her face, "You don't have to worry about that part. I can figure that out." She takes a deep breath and reaches across the table, gently taking his hands into hers. She looks saddened by what he told her, but still gives him a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you told me this," she says softly, almost whispering, "And yes, we can get Darwin registered as your emotional support dog. I don't know if the school will let you take him to class and stuff, but from what you told me today you can probably take him with you and let him hang around the campus until you're done. And… we can talk about anything else you need. Okay?"

Peter gives her a tired smile and nods.

"Okay."

* * *

Later that night, Darwin lies with Peter in his bed. It's too small for the both of them, but neither care. Peter doesn't cry, but he's silent.

It's still a sad silence. Darwin can tell.

Peter's fingers slowly curl and uncurl in the dog's wiry fur. It takes a while, but eventually they fall still. Peter sleeps with his chin resting atop the dog's head.

Darwin takes a deep breath and exhales. '_Okay.'_

* * *

**AN Btw this story is on ao3 and gets updated every tuesday on there. I usually only update on FF when I remember to. **


	6. Chapter 6

Life soon falls into a rhythm.

Darwin walks Peter to school everyday. There's no need for a leash, since the dog follows his boy loyally the entire time and then hangs around the school until 3PM. After that, they go home, occasionally stopping by Peter's favorite sandwich shop.

Mr. Delmar is kind to Peter and Darwin warms up to him quickly. With how familiar the two are with each other, it's obvious that Peter is a regular there, so Darwin finds it important that he make a good first impression. He doesn't bother the cat Murphy, although the feline doesn't seem too happy with his presence. She glares at him smugly whenever Peter pets her. Sometimes Peter gives him a bit of his sandwich, and after a couple of visits, Mr. Delmar starts tossing him a slice of ham whenever they come.

Sometimes Ned joins them. He and Peter are hanging out more often, which relieves Darwin, and the other boy finds it 'sooo cool, Peter, oh my God-' that Darwin waits for Peter to be done with school.

Another upside to Darwin's presence is that Flash never bothers Peter when he's around. It appears that the large dog intimidates him a bit, especially since he growls whenever Flash does try to approach. Darwin can't protect Peter once he's in school, but at least his early mornings and late afternoons are bully-free.

His bond with Peter strengthens enough that he can feel the boy's emotions during the day. They spike whenever Flash is being particularly nasty, so Darwin knows what days to give the bully a couple of extra growls and glares when school gets out.

So, the first couple of weeks are nice. Simple. Go to school, hang out until Peter's done, and then go home to a nice warm meal and a soft bed. It's ten times better than being a stray, Darwin decides.

It's obvious that his presence has been helping Peter, too. He seems lighter, somehow. He still gets sad sometimes, but Darwin always distracts him when he does. He doesn't have as many panic attacks as he used to. Darwin still sleeps with him in his bed sometimes, but most of the time the dog sleeps in his own bed beside the boy.

May does manage to register him as an emotional support dog. It's surprisingly easy, she just has to fill out some forms and get a letter of approval from a therapist. Darwin doesn't have the same rights as a service animal, so he can't go with Peter into restaurants and stuff, but if Peter ever gets a place of his own, Darwin will be able to live with him even if there aren't animals allowed in the building. He's also allowed to go with him on airplanes, but Peter doesn't travel much so that part isn't very useful.

Peter hangs out with Ned and even invites him over sometimes. Darwin always keeps a watchful eye on them, especially when May isn't home, but he lets himself relax a bit more when Ned's around. It's nice not being the only one determined to keep Peter happy. And Ned definitely is determined- he never lets there be a moment of silence, and even after he leaves he keeps making Peter laugh by sending him memes throughout the night.

'_He's a good boy,' _Darwin thinks. Although he doesn't quite understand his obsession with memes.

Amongst other things, Darwin discovers that May is a terrible cook.

The first few days he thinks that perhaps she is just having a string of bad luck. However, on one Saturday afternoon, Peter and Ned are playing with Legos in Peter's room and Darwin takes the time to watch some TV. Peter and May find it hilarious that he actually appears to be watching the TV, but they don't get suspicious, so Darwin thinks it's okay to continue. He's on the couch, watching Animal Planet, when May walks into the living room.

She glances between him and the TV. A show called River Monsters is playing. Jeremy Wade wrestles a giant catfish out of the water, and May declares, "I'm going to make fish tonight!"

The apartment smells like fish for the next two days.

After that, Darwin has a newfound appreciation for takeout. Peter always sneaks him food underneath the table during dinnertime and May pretends not to notice.

So, for the first two weeks of his life as a pet, everything goes wonderfully. But, of course, something always has to change.

Peter and Darwin have just gotten off of the subway and are walking back to the apartment when they hear commotion down the street. When they push through the crowd, they see that everyone is staring at a rather nasty car crash. Everyone seems to be frozen, unsure of what to do, but when a cry comes from one of the cars, Peter springs into action.

He runs over to the smaller of the cars, Darwin right on his heels. The teenager rips open the driver's door to reveal a dazed-looking woman. The airbag has flattened, but there's blood on the side of her head and the front of the car is crushed, causing the dashboard to trap her legs.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Peter asks worriedly, already reaching across her to remove her seatbelt, "Can you move?"

The woman shakes her head but frantically pushes him away. "My- my kid!" She croaks, "My kid- in the back- I can't-"

"Don't worry, ma'am, I'll get her."

The little girl is crying, but thankfully it's easy to get her out of the car. Peter gently sets her down next to Darwin and the dog starts sniffing her. It doesn't look like anything's broken, she's just a bit bruised and shaken, so Darwin licks her comfortingly.

It seems that Peter's action has spurred on the other civilians as well. As soon as he gets the little girl out, adults start rushing over and try to help the woman. A few check on the other driver as well, but he's already managed to stumble out of his truck.

As a lady on the sidewalk calls 911, Peter and Darwin step back and leave once the cops arrive.

Later that night, once May has gone to sleep, Peter climbs up on his walls and reaches towards the ceiling. He takes his old Spider-Man suit out of the attic before dropping down onto the ground. He holds it for a few moments, just staring at it. He feels apprehensive, but also excited and determined at the same time.

Concerned, Darwin stands up and snuffles at him worriedly. Peter looks at him and smiles softly.

"Don't worry, bud," he whispers, scratching his ear, "I'll be back soon. I've just gotta do something."

He quickly changes into the suit, then quietly opens his window and sneaks out. He leaves it slightly cracked open, probably so that he doesn't have any trouble getting back in, but Darwin jumps on the opportunity.

Quickly, he noses the window open and hops onto the fire escape. Peter is nowhere to be seen.

'_He's fast,' _Darwin thinks, glancing up, '_I should get a better vantage point.'_

The dark grey dog climbs up the stairs towards the roof. He tries to be as quiet as possible, but the metal stairs are old and creak with every step. Still, he manages to get onto the roof without waking any of the neighbors and glances around.

Queens is vast and the streets are active, even at night. However, Darwin still can't see Peter anywhere.

'_You'd think a bright red-and-blue suit would be easy to spot,' _he thinks.

Thanks to their bond, however, he can still feel the boy nearby. He's getting farther and farther away and the dog isn't quite sure what to do now. He could go back into the apartment and sleep, since he doesn't know how long his boy will be gone, but he knows he won't be able to rest until he's back. So, Darwin sits down and waits.

It's terribly cold on that February night, but Darwin stubbornly endures it for the next three hours. He feels Peter's excitement through their bond, the occasional flashes of panic followed by pride and triumph. It's around midnight when Peter does return.

Darwin hears a light thump behind him and glances over his shoulder.

Spider-Man stares back at him. Darwin assumes that his eyes are wide behind those goggles.

"Darwin?!" Peter hisses, "What are you doing out here?"

Darwin pads over to him and sniffs him, checking for injuries. Peter immediately starts shooing him back to the fire escape. "Go, go! Go back inside! It's freezing out here!"

Once they're both back inside the bedroom, Peter takes off his mask and glares at Darwin.

"Don't leave the apartment at night!" He scolds, "It's not safe!"

Darwin gives Peter an incredulous look.

The teenager rolls his eyes and sighs. Despite his annoyance, he seems happy. Satisfied. Darwin finds out why the next morning when he sees a news reporter on TV talking about how Spider-Man saved an elderly woman from being mugged. The woman weeps grateful tears as she's interviewed and expresses how glad she is that Spider-Man is back.

There's a smile on Peter's face for the rest of the day.

And so, Spider-Man becomes part of life's rhythm. Darwin walks Peter to school, waits for him, then walks with him until Peter finds an adequate spot to change into his suit, and then Spider-Man is off and Darwin walks back to the apartment. He waits for Spider-Man on the roof, then they both go inside right before May comes home. Darwin even begins carrying Peter's backpack back to the apartment after he loses the last one.

(He doesn't understand how a boy as smart as Peter could expect to leave a backpack in an alley and not have it stolen, even if it is webbed to the wall).

Sometimes Peter goes out again after May has gone to sleep. Darwin disapproves, but Peter still manages to get all of his homework done on time, so he doesn't complain. The only time this whole Spider-Man thing really bothers him is when Peter comes home injured. It's never anything serious, but Darwin hates watching Peter patch himself up in the bathroom when May's not around, and then make up lies when she asks about the injuries that he can't hide with clothes.

Still, being Spider-Man is having an extremely positive effect on Peter. He's more chipper than usual, he's sleeping better (although that might be because he's dead-tired by the end of the day), and he practically swells up in pride whenever he hears people chatting excitedly about Spider-Man's latest heroic deed.

Darwin can't help but wonder what it must be like. '_Doesn't he think it's odd that he's practically famous, except no one knows it's him?' _

Peter doesn't seem to mind, though. And as long as Peter's happy, Darwin's happy. So he looks past the negatives of Spider-Man and instead focuses on the positives. He helps Peter with his bag, he dutifully waits for his boy to return at the end of his patrol, and he licks and comforts Peter when he gets bruised and scraped.

This goes on for a few months. The snow melts and the air gets warmer and warmer. Peter and Ned take Darwin to the park more often now that the weather is better. And Peter's freshman year of highschool is starting to wind down. It's the beginning of May, and Peter and Ned are currently outside a coffee shop, chatting about finals. Darwin lies next to Peter's feet on the sidewalk, listening idly.

"I'm feeling pretty good about finals, actually," Ned says, "Although, I'm a bit worried about-"

Peter suddenly straightens up, causing Darwin to do so as well. He looks at the boy, wondering why he's suddenly feeling so anxious, but then follows the teenager's gaze to a TV broadcasting the news inside the coffee shop. They can't hear, but subtitles below reveal that the news anchors are talking about the Avengers.

"Hey... hey, Ned, look."

The three turn and stare at the TV.

"Eleven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month," One news anchor says, "The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred."

The image changes to a video of King T'Chaka speaking, "Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all."

Darwin frowns. He'd distantly kept up with the Avengers' activities during his time as a stray, mostly hearing about them from school-goers and adults on their way to work. Now that he's with Peter, who's a huge fan of the Avengers, he's been kept up-to-date on the superheroes' lives. He doesn't quite know what to think about their latest incident.

Peter, however, does.

"Oh, come on!" Peter defends adamantly, "It's not like they meant for that to happen!"

"Yeah, it was obviously an accident," Ned agrees.

Another news anchor goes on to say, "They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that's the reality, if we don't respond to acts like these."

"What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?" The first anchor asks.

Peter scoffs and rolls his eyes. "I think I've lost my appetite," he says bitterly, even though his croissant is nothing but crumbs, "Wanna head back to my place?"

"Sure," Ned nods, standing up.

They continue talking about the Avengers as they walk. Peter and Ned both defend their actions stubbornly, so it's not a very productive discussion, but it seems like they're just happy to vent their frustrations. They seem to have gotten everything out of their system by the time they reach the apartment, though.

"Hey, Aunt May!" Peter says, taking off his backpack, "Ned's here!"

May comes out of the kitchen. "Hi, boys! Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," Peter replies, "Until we saw the news."

"Ooooh, yeah, I saw that too," May winces. She shrugs and says, "Well, the United Nations are going to hold a conference in Vienna in a few days. Figure everything out, you know? It's on a Saturday, so we can watch the broadcast. Be the first to hear the good gossip."

"Oh, yeah," Peter says sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "That's going to be a _blast_."

* * *

And it is. Literally.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything kind of goes downhill after the bomb. Seventy people injured and twelve dead- one of them being the king of Wakanda. To make matters even worse, the man being blamed is James Buchanan Barnes, Captain America's old friend. It's all anyone can talk about for the next few days.

Peter's practically glued to his phone. He chats constantly with Ned and with anyone who will listen. He even reads out loud to Darwin, who, admittedly, is grateful he's being kept in the loop. He's curious about all this drama.

Captain America is arrested soon after the bombing in Vienna for trying to protect his friend. Then, literally the same day, Barnes escapes custody and Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson go missing.

'_Everything's a mess,'_ Darwin thinks as he walks with Peter the next day, '_I hope they can fix this without anyone else dying.'_

He and Peter are currently on their way to the dumpster behind a tech company. Peter likes to root through the trash occasionally and see if he can find something he can tinker with. His boy's obvious intelligence makes Darwin's heart swell with pride, so he's happy to accompany him and keep watch.

(He also likes to think he's helping further Peter's intellectual growth).

The dumpster is full, so Peter roots around it for a few minutes. He eventually makes a noise of disappointment and pulls away.

"Nothing good this time, Darwin," he says, disgruntled.

Darwin tilts his head and then notices something underneath the dumpster. Crouching down, he reaches underneath with his snout and grabs it. When he turns around, Peter instantly perks up.

"Hey, a DVD player!" Peter takes it from his mouth and scratches his head fondly. "Good find, buddy!"

Darwin wags his tail happily.

When they walk back to the apartment, they notice a particularly fancy car parked in front. Peter stares in awe for a few moments, then takes out his phone.

At Darwin's questioning glance, Peter shrugs sheepily. "What? Ned would love to see this!"

After snapping a pic, Peter readjusts his backpack and leads the way into the apartment. He hums along to the music in his earbuds during the elevator ride, fiddling with the DVD player in his hands. As they walk towards their door, Darwin picks up a new scent.

'_Hmm,' _the dog thinks, '_May must have a visitor.'_

"Hey, Aunt May," Peter says as he walks in, immediately taking off his backpack.

Darwin pads after him but stops in the living room. May is sitting on the couch with Tony Stark. Like _the _Tony Stark. The one that's famous, the one that's Iron Man, the one that's… currently involved in a superhero scandal. Darwin narrows his eyes suspiciously.

'_What's going on here,' _he thinks.

May smiles at Peter, who hasn't noticed the billionaire's presence yet, and asks, "Hey, how was school today?"

"Okay," Peter replies distractedly as he walks through the kitchen, "There's this crazy car parked outside…" He finally sees Tony Stark and he stops, his eyes widening.

"Oh! Mr. Parker," Stark says casually.

Peter, looking bewildered, takes off his headphones and stammers, "Um… What-what are you doing...? Hey! Uh, I'm-Im-I'm Peter."

"Tony," the man replies.

"What are… what are you-what are you doing here?" Peter stutters, smiling nervously. Darwin silently slinks over to his side as Stark replies.

"It's about time we met."

Next to him, May mouthes to Peter 'What the fuck?'

"You've been getting my emails, right?"

'_No, he hasn't,' _Darwin thinks.

It's clear that Peter doesn't know what he's talking about, but then Stark winks (or tries to considering that he has a black eye) so he replies, "Yeah… yeah."

"Right?"

"Regarding the…?"

May steps in and says, "You didn't tell me about the grant."

Eyes lighting up, Peter nods. "About the grant."

"The September Foundation," Stark adds.

"Right."

"Yeah. Remember when you applied?"

"Yeah," Peter replies.

'_No,' _Darwin thinks, '_I don't remember him applying to that. Probably because he never did.' _

"I approved," Stark continues, "So now we're in business."

May pouts and says exasperatedly, "You didn't tell me anything. What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?"

'_Oh, if only you knew.' _

"Why, I just, I just . . . I just know how much you love surprises, so I thought I would let you know…" Peter trails off, not knowing where to take that, but then switches the conversation back to Stark, "Anyway, what did I apply for?"

"That's what I'm here to hash out."

"Okay. Hash, hash out, okay." Peter's looking a bit more unsure now. Darwin stands as tall as he can next to him and glares at the man. Despite how cool and calm Stark seems, Darwin can feel the tumulting anxiety and frustration the man is feeling on the inside.

'_What's going on here?' _Darwin nearly growls.

Stark glances at May begins to compliment her appearance, so Peter holds up a hand. "Let me just stop you there." When both adults look at him, he asks sheepishly, "Is this grant, like, got money involved or whatever? No?"

Darwin nearly rolls his eyes and Stark replies, "Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"It's pretty well funded. Look who you're talking to." Turning to May, Stark asks, "Can I have 5 minutes with him?"

As soon as May says yes, Stark gets up and Peter leads him into his room. Darwin brushes past the man before he can close the door behind them. He looks briefly surprised, but then closes the door and, after a moment, locks it.

Darwin was already on edge, but that nearly makes him raise his hackles.

Turning to Peter's trash can, Stark spits and mutters, "As walnut date loaves go, that wasn't bad." He glances at Darwin, who's standing in front of Peter protectively, and says, "Loyal dog you got there, kid. Whoa, what do we have here?" He notices Peter's collection of old computers and various trinkets, "Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?"

"Uh, the garbage, actually," Peter interrupts, feeling very on edge.

"You're a dumpster diver."

It seems that Peter's finally had enough, because he says, "Yeah, I was . . . anyway, look, um, I definitely did not apply for your grant."

"Ah-ah, me first," Stark says, "Quick question of the rhetorical variety." He pulls out his phone which proceeds to project a video of Spider-Man swinging by and stopping a car thief. "That's you, right?"

Peter tenses up. "Um, no-what do you-what do you mean?"

"Yeah. Look at you go." The video then shows Peter stopping a car from hitting a bus, "Wow! Nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That's not easy. You got mad skills." He puts the phone down on the desk.

"That's all- That's all on YouTube, though, right?" Peter stammers through lies and Stark gives him a look, "I mean, that's where you found that? Because you know that's all fake. It's all done on the computer."

"Yeah, yeah," Stark says, glancing around the room, seemingly looking for something. He glances up at the attic and Darwin tenses up. "Oh, you mean like those UFOs over Phoenix?" He pushes the attic open with a broom and Peter's suit falls out. Darwin leaps up and catches it in his mouth before Peter or Stark can grab it.

Peter freezes as Stark gazes at the suit triumphantly. He turns to Peter and the boy stutters, "Uh… that's a…" He trails off, knowing it's futile.

Stark pauses for a moment before approaching Peter. "So. You're the . . . Spider . . . ling. Crime-fighting Spider . . .you're Spider-Boy?"

Peter folds his arms petulantly and mutters, "S-Spider-_Man_."

"Not in that onesie, you're not."

Now Peter looks like he's starting to get irritated. "It's not a onesie." He walks past Stark and grumbles, "I don't believe this. I was actually having a real good day today, you know, Mr. Stark. Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there and… Algebra test. Nailed it!"

"Who else knows?" Stark asks, "Anybody?"

Peter glances at him and looks away. "Nobody," he says, then adds, "Well, except for Darwin." At Stark's raised eyebrow, he nods to the Wolfhound, "The dog."

"Of course," Stark says dryly, eyeing the suit still in Darwin's mouth, "But not your unusually attractive aunt?"

Peter frowns. "No? No, no. If she knew, she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out."

As he talks, Stark turns to Darwin. His hand reaches out for the suit, but Darwin growls softly. He glares at the man. '_Try it.'_

Stark seems to get the message, because he quickly retracts his hand and settles for sitting down and simply looking at the suit.

"You know what I think is really cool?" He interrupts Peter and gestures to the suit, "That webbing. The tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?"

"I did."

"Climbing the walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?"

Peter glances away and murmurs, "It's a long story, I was, uh…"

Stark, however, is more distracted by the suit. Darwin doesn't have a good grip on the mask, so he manages to tug it away from him and fiddles with the goggles. "Lordy! Can you even see in these?"

"Yes, yes, I can! I can," Peter snaps, walking over and tugging the mask away from him. He grabs the suit from Darwin as well and puts both in his hamper. Turning back to Stark, he continues, "I can-I can see in those. Okay? It's just that… when whatever happened, happened … it's like my senses have been dialed to eleven. There's way too much input, so… they just kinda help me focus."

"You're in dire need of an upgrade," Stark says bluntly, "Systemic, top to bottom. 100-point restoration. That's why I'm here." Peter walks over and sits on his bed, looking at the man. Sensing his boy's anxiety, Darwin lies down next to him on the bed and puts his head in his lap. Peter immediately starts running his fingers through his fur anxiously. Stark eyes that with a hint of curiosity before asking Peter, "Why are you doing this? I gotta know. What's your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning?"

"Because…" Peter mumbles, kneading his dog's fur, "because I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers for 6 months…" Stark hums to encourage him to continue, "I read books, I build computers . . . and-and yeah, I would love to play football. But I couldn't then so I shouldn't now."

"Sure, because you're different." Stark nods.

"Exactly," Peter says, "But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not." He holds the man's gaze for a moment before looking down at Darwin. He thoughtfully rubs his ear between two fingers, clearly pondering about what to say next. After a moment, he glances up and says in a softer voice, "When you can do the things that I can, but you don't… and then the bad things happen... they happen because of you."

Darwin glances at Peter, noticing the hint of grief in his eyes. '_He must be thinking about Ben.'_

Stark also looks slightly affected by Peter's words. After a pause, he asks, "So you wanna look out for the little guy? You wanna do your part? Make the world a better place- all that- right?"

"Yeah, yeah just looking out for the little guy," Peter agrees earnestly, "That's-that's what it is."

Stark gets up and walks over to the bed. He glances at Darwin. "I'm gonna sit here, so the dog's gotta move."

Darwin gives him a deadpan look.

However, Peter starts nudging him and he begrudgingly shifts so that Stark has enough space to sit at the edge of the bed beside Peter. Stark raises a hand and hesitantly clasps Peter's shoulder.

"You got a passport?" He asks.

Surprised, Peter replies, "Uh, no. I don't even have a driver's license."

"You ever been to Germany?"

"No."

"Oh, you'll love it."

"I can't go to Germany!" Peter protests.

"Why?"

Peter hesitates and replies awkwardly, "I got… homework."

Stark rolls his eyes and stands up. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

"I'm-I'm being serious! I can't just drop out of school!" Peter argues.

'_It's nearly finals,' _Darwin thinks, agreeing, '_Not a good time for a trip. Besides, I don't trust this guy.' _The man's emotions aren't betraying any ill intent, but that doesn't mean he still can't get Peter into trouble.

"Might be a little dangerous," Stark says as he walks to the door, "Better tell Aunt Hottie I'm taking you on a field trip."

Instantly, Peter gets up and webs the man's hand to the door. There's a tense moment, and then Peter says, "Don't tell Aunt May."

Stark lifts his chin and nods. "Alright, Spider-Man." There's a brief silence, then he asks, "Get me out of this."

"Sorry, I'll get the…" Peter darts over to his desk to get the web dissolver. As he removes the webs, he asks, "So, what do you need me for?"

"I'm sure you've heard the news," Stark replies as he pulls his arm away. He plucks stray web strands from his suit as he idly says, "I'm gonna bring Cap and his buddies in, but I might need some backup."

"Backup?" Peter echoes before nodding seriously, "Okay, okay, so there's gonna be-"

"If all goes well, there won't be any actual fighting," Stark interrupts, "You're more of a… safety net, I guess. In case things do go south. I'll fill you in on everything later. I'll be having my driver Happy pick you up tomorrow morning to take you to the jet."

"Jet?" Peter repeats, glancing up, "Like-Like a plane?"

"How else do you expect to get to a country across the ocean?" Stark raises an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean, I, uh," Peter stammers nervously. He glances back at Darwin, who pads over to his side and licks his hand. The hand pats his head, and then Peter says, "I'm gonna need to bring Darwin." At Stark's questioning look, he hesitantly adds, "He's my, uh, support dog." He's nervous, as if he's afraid of Stark judging him.

A flicker of surprise passes over the man's face before his expression smoothes out. He shrugs casually and nods. "Alright, no problem. But, he can't come with us when we go after Cap-"

"Oh, no, that's fine!" Peter laughs and scratches the back of his head nervously, "He always stays behind when I go out as Spider-Man anyway, so… yeah, he'll be fine, it's cool."

"Good." Stark nods. "Happy will pick you up at 6AM, so be ready."

"I will," Peter says, "Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"Thank _you_."

They shake hands and then Stark walks into the living room and proceeds to tell May that Peter has an internship and he will be taking him on a retreat for the next couple of days. May is excited to hear that and, once Stark leaves, asks Peter question after question to which he quickly makes up lies.

Darwin can't help but feel dreadful. It seems like Stark is just using Peter to help dig him out of the hole he dug for himself. Not that what happened with Barnes was his fault, but Darwin would rather keep Peter as far away from this superhero scandal as possible. Things must be particularly bad if he needs a fifteen-year-old's help to solve his problems.

Peter seems anxious as well, and as soon as May steps out to pick up food from a restaurant to celebrate, he begins ranting to Darwin.

"Oh my God I can't believe this this happening, bud," Peter exclaims, pacing restlessly, "I mean, he just showed up and like basically asked for my help. He knew I was Spider-Man! How'd he even find out?! Well, he is a genius and has a lot of resources so it probably wasn't that hard for him but- I just can't believe- I mean, what the fuck?"

'_Language,' _Darwin mentally scolds.

After a few minutes, Peter exhausts himself and he drops to his knees to hug Darwin. "Man, I am so glad he's letting me bring you," Peter exhales nervously, "I'm gonna be freaking out- I _am _freaking out. I just can't believe…" He trails off when Darwin licks his ear comfortingly. Grimacing, he pulls away and wipes it with his sleeve. "I hope you do well on planes," he mutters, then freezes, his eyes widening, "Oh my God. I hope _I _do well on planes. I've never been on one before! Are they scary? I mean, they can't be that bad, people go on them all the time! Oh, but they're probably loud, that's gonna kill my ears…"

Peter continues ranting wildly for the next few minutes and bounces his leg nervously throughout dinner. May assumes it's because of excitement so she doesn't mention it but instead tells Peter how proud she is of him. Later that night, Peter hardly sleeps, and so Darwin hardly sleeps.

At one point, Peter grabs his Spider-Man suit, and Darwin think, '_Nope, not tonight, kid.'_

The Wolfhound tugs the suit out of his hands and growls when Peter tries to take it back.

"Oh, you're probably right," Peter sighs, "I should save my strength for tomorrow. Don't want to risk getting injured tonight."

Darwin sighs as well. Eventually, Peter does manage to sleep, but the dog stays awake, his mind racing with worry. For once in his life, he can relate to Peter's favorite Star Wars character, Han Solo.

He has a bad feeling about this.


	8. Chapter 8

Considering how rich Stark is, Darwin thinks he could've hired a nicer driver.

Happy is grumpy and irritated when he picks Peter up in a fancy car at 6AM. He mutters 'not a fucking babysitter' under his breath as he hauls Peter's bag into the trunk.

"Does the dog shed?" He grunts as Peter and Darwin get into the back.

Peter shakes his head. "Oh, no, not that much, he-"

"Good. Make sure he doesn't pee in the car."

With that, Happy turns on the car and begins driving. Peter tries to make small talk, but it's obvious that Happy doesn't like kids. Still, that doesn't dampen Peter's good mood. He continuously shifts in his seat excitedly as they drive through New York. Darwin looks out the window and watches the city pass by.

Smiling, Peter puts his chin on Darwin's head and begins narrating in a deep voice, "New York. Queens. It's a rough borough, but hey, it's home."

"Who are you talking to?" Happy asks suspiciously.

Peter turns to him and quickly says, "No one. Well, Darwin, I guess. I like to narrate his thoughts. It's fun."

"Fun." Happy doesn't sound impressed.

Peter and Darwin glance at each other, then the boy asks, "So, uh, why do they call you Happy?"

Happy responds by rolling up the partition.

Darwin decides that he doesn't like him very much. He can't understand why anyone wouldn't like Peter. He's such a good boy.

They eventually arrive at some sort of air field. A small private plane is waiting for them when they get out of the car. It's very fancy and spacious on the inside. Peter explores a bit, peeking his head inside the cockpit to see that there's no pilot.

"Whoa, no pilot?" Peter exclaims in awe, "That's awesome!"

'_We should probably sit down,' _Darwin thinks as the plane starts rumbling beneath his paws. He gently nudges Peter towards the aisle.

The boy perks up and sits in the seat across from Happy.

"Is that where you're gonna sit?" Happy asks bluntly.

"Yeah."

"Is this your first time on a private plane?"

"This is my first time on any plane."

Without another word, Happy gets up and moves to a seat farther away. As he does, the plane starts firing up and getting ready to fly. The engine outside starts making a whirring noise and Peter glances at it anxiously.

"Should it- should it be- should it be making that noise?" He asks, beginning to feel nervous.

Happy doesn't bother responding.

Darwin frowns. '_Rude.' _He sits down in front of Peter and puts his head in his lap. Peter starts petting him and calms down slightly, but he does clutch him tightly when the plane takes off. Thankfully, the flight isn't that long, probably due to the fact that they're on a private jet, and soon they arrive at an airport in Berlin. After that, it's a blur of Berlin streets, pretzel vendors, and street performers before they finally reach their hotel.

Happy points at a door before moving on to the next one. "This is you."

"Oh, we're neighbors?"

"We're not roommates. Suit up."

The room is very spacious, much fancier than any room Darwin and Peter have ever gone in. Peter looks around in awe for a moment before setting his stuff down. He quickly changes into his Spider-Man suit before turning to Darwin.

"Okay, buddy, I've got this, I- oh my God!" He suddenly exclaims, smacking his forehead, "I didn't bring any food for you! Oh, God, I don't know how long I'm gonna be gone, what if you get hungry?"

He starts rummaging around in his backpack before pulling out a bag of popcorn. "Dogs can eat popcorn, right?" He mutters to himself, quickly pulling out his phone to ask Google, "I mean, it's probably not healthy, but it won't kill you, and this doesn't have salt or any-."

"What the hell are you wearing?" Happy's voice suddenly snaps.

They both glance up to see the man glaring at Peter's suit in disgust.

"It's my suit," Peter says innocently.

"Where's the case?" When Peter doesn't know, Happy huffs in frustration and opens a door, revealing another area of the suite.

Peter gawks. "What? I thought that was a closet. This is still my room? My room is way bigger than-"

"There," Happy grunts, gesturing to a case sitting on the coffee table.

Darwin pads forward and snuffles at it. There's a card that says 'A minor upgrade- TS'. When Peter unlocks the case, it unfolds itself and pops open, revealing a high-tech Spider-Man suit with glowing holograms floating in front of it. Both Peter and Darwin's eyes widen.

"Whoa," Peter breathes, "Oh my God!"

He glances at Happy and the man looks at him expectantly. "Put it on."

"What the-" Peter stammers, "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen-"

"_Let's go_."

"But, yeah. Well, I don't understand. Is it for me? Happy, Happy, wait!" Despite Peter's protests, Happy leaves the room.

Peter takes off his mask and grins at Darwin. "This is insane! Insane! Look at this thing! Look-Look at the eyes! This is the greatest day of my life!"

Despite his worry, Darwin wags his tail. Peter's excitement is contagious. He's also glad that Stark took the time to make Peter a new suit, one that's hopefully going to protect him more than the baggy sweatshirt he calls a suit.

"Come on, kid!" Happy urges.

"Right, right!" Peter says. He quickly puts on the new suit, oohing and ahhing the entire time, and tosses the bag of popcorn onto the coffee table where Darwin can reach.

"Okay, buddy, see ya later!" Peter says as Happy ushers him out of the room, "There's snacks for you and-oh, and if you need water you can use the sink in the bathroom- I know you know how to turn it on, alri-"

Happy interrupts him by slamming the door behind them. Darwin blinks and glances around, suddenly alone.

'_I guess all I can do is wait, now,' _he thinks.

* * *

Peter is gone for a disturbingly long time. The first couple of hours are fine, Darwin can feel his emotions through their bond and he just seems really excited, but as more time goes by, Darwin's anxiety grows. It feels like Peter's fighting right now.

'_Who knows what he's fighting against?' _he worries, '_He's used to taking down muggers or stopping car crashes- he's not ready to fight other superheroes! What was Stark thinking?' _

He does end up eating the popcorn, but it doesn't distract him for very long. Just like with April, he's antsy and restless whenever Peter is gone. The next few hours are torture, so when Darwin finally hears Peter's footsteps coming down the hallway, he perks up and dashes over to the door. As soon as it opens, Darwin rears up on his hind legs and crashes into Peter, licking his face frantically.

'_Oh, thank God you're okay!' _He thinks worriedly, '_Oh, you're all dirty and sweaty- but I can clean that up! Gah, I'm just so glad you're alright!'_

Peter grunts under his weight and grimaces when his tongue slobbers over his face. "Ugh! Darwin! Darwin, buddy, I'm fine, I'm fine! Get off, you're getting your slobber all over me!"

Reluctantly, Darwin drops down onto all fours and instead sniffs Peter for injuries. Peter wipes the drool off of his face with his sleeve. "I'm glad you missed me," he snorts, then suddenly perks up, completely forgetting the licking.

"Oh my God, Darwin, it was the most amazing thing that's ever happened!" Peter exclaims, obviously still high on adrenaline, "So Mr. Stark was like, "Hey, Underoos!" and I just sort of flipped in and I stole Cap's shield. I was like, "Hey, what's up, everybody?" And then-"

There's a knock on the door and Peter backflips over to it, but before he can open it, Happy enters in a bathrobe.

"Hey," Peter greets breathlessly.

"We have thin walls here," Happy says tiredly.

"Oh, right!" Peter says, lowering his voice, "I'll keep it down."

"Good." With that said, Happy disappears into his own room.

Peter huffs before going back to Darwin. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and says, "Okay, I recorded everything so you can see. Here, look-"

Darwin, who's still sniffing Peter, wrinkles his nose at the stench of sweat. Peter notices and runs a hand through his limp curls. "Oh, wait, I should probably take a shower, I stink." He places the phone in front of Darwin and clicks play. "Okay, watch it while I do that."

He backflips into the bathroom and Darwin rolls his eyes. The video shows Iron Man, War Machine, Captain America, Black Widow, and Black Panther confronting each other. Peter narrates what's going on, but he has to set the camera down for most of it, only occasionally picking it up and filling in what happened during brief pauses in the battle. Because _of course _it ends up being a battle, despite Stark's reassurances otherwise.

Thankfully, when Peter is finished showering, he doesn't appear to be injured. Sore, definitely, but mostly just tired. He flops onto the bed and groans.

"Ughhhhh," he moans. Darwin jumps up onto the bed and sniffs his face. Peter scrunches up his nose when the dog's whiskers tickle him and he pushes his face away.

"C'mon," he says, reaching over to the hotel phone, "Happy said we could order room service. Let's get some dinner."

He quickly looks at the menu in the small pamphlet on the table and orders his food over the phone. Soon enough, Peter and Darwin are staring at what looks like a full buffet of delicious-smelling food being wheeled into their room.

Peter immediately digs in, ravenous after his day of fighting. As he eats, he tosses burger patties and hotdogs to Darwin, who gobbles them up hungrily.

"Good thing Aunt May isn't here," Peter says as he chews his food, grinning at Darwin.

The dog nearly rolls his eyes and is tempted to scold him for talking with food in his mouth. He does, however, notice that Peter is able to eat an inhuman amount of food in a short time.

'_Hmm,' _he thinks, '_Must be a mutant thing.' _

Once they're both comfortably full, they have the plates taken away and curl up together in bed, now that they have one big enough for the two of them. Peter starts watching some TV, but with the exhaustion from the battle and his full stomach, he's soon out like a light. He snores softly against Darwin's shoulder and the dog lets out a content sigh.

'_All things considered,'_ he ponders, '_This could have gone a lot worse. Peter's happy, he's not hurt, and he's had fun. I'm sure the experience he got from fighting tougher guys will help him when he's on his usual patrols. I hope he can keep the suit, too. Hmm, speaking of suits, where's Stark? He seemed to have disappeared after the battle.'_

They don't see Stark the next morning, nor do they see him on the plane back to New York, but he does accompany them in the car ride back to Queens. Darwin assumes the man returned to the States on his own private plane, or perhaps even his suit. Peter is thrilled to be spending time with the older man, despite it being a bit of a squeeze with both him, Darwin, and Stark in the back of the car. Peter chatters excitedly the entire car ride, but Darwin can tell something's off about Stark.

He's practically radiating pain and frustration, despite the stiff smiles he gives Peter. Darwin winces at his feelings of betrayal and anguish, but worst of all is the overwhelming feeling of guilt. The man is wearing sunglasses, even though it's nighttime, but Darwin can see some bruising on his face and assumes he has a black eye. His body is taut and he's holding himself stiffly, but his leg still bounces slightly, as if he's nervous and trying to hide it.

Darwin tilts his head. '_What happened to you?' _He ponders, '_Hmm, maybe he's just worried because Captain America and his friend got away. Must've been hard, fighting someone who used to be your friend. He's sad about it.' _

Leaning over, Darwin puts his head on Stark's lap and licks his hand soothingly.

Both the man and Peter seem surprised.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Peter squeaks, pulling Darwin's head away, "Ha ha, sorry, he's a licker!"

"No worries, no worries," Stark says cooly, "I've never been much of a dog person myself, but, uh, he seems like a… good boy." He awkwardly reaches over and pats Darwin's head.

"Yeah, he's great," Peter says nervously, running his hands through Darwin's fur, "He's nice, he… really, ya know, helps me…"

Stark gets that same curious look in his eyes, the same one he had when Peter first mentioned that Darwin was his emotional support dog. However, before he can say anything, Happy speaks up from the driver's seat.

"Dog's huge," he grunts, "Can't imagine having a horse like that in a tiny apartment. Kid narrates his thoughts and everything like he's in some sort of movie."

Peter's fingers tighten in his fur and Darwin feels a flash of indignance from him. Thankfully, Stark eases the tension. "Hey, hey, hey, the dog's great. And- movie! That gives me a good idea, we should make an alibi video for your aunt."

"Oh!" Peter takes his phone out of his pocket and holds it up. Stark takes off his glasses, fully revealing his bruised face.

"Hey, May!" He says cheerfully as Peter starts recording, "How you doing? What are you wearing? Something skimpy, I hope."

Peter frowns and glances at Stark while Darwin lets out a soft growl. The man chuckles and pats the teenager's shoulder, which encourages him to give him an uncomfortable smile.

Thankfully, Stark says, "Peter, that's inappropriate. All right, let's start over. You can edit it."

"Mm-hmm," Peter hums innocently before snorting.

Darwin rolls his eyes and rests his head on Peter's lap while they film their video, all fake smiles and too-cheery voices. They come to an abrupt stop after Happy and Stark bicker, then Happy exits to get Peter's bags, which surprises Peter.

He slowly lowers the phone in shock. "I can keep the suit?" He asks, his eyes wide.

"Yes, we were just talking about it."

Darwin listens to them talk. '_Eh, maybe Stark's not so bad after all,' _he thinks approvingly, '_The fact that he's giving the suit to Peter means he cares about his safety. And he has Happy now- well, with his attitude he might not be too helpful, but it's good that Peter can talk to an adult about Spider-Man now. I'm glad I'm not the only one watching over him.' _

There's an awkward moment in which Stark grabs the door for Peter, who mistakes the gesture as a hug and wraps his arms around him. It doesn't seem to dampen Peter's mood, however, and there's a definite spring in his step as he heads back into the apartment.

"They're gonna call me."


	9. Chapter 9

Instead of being called, Peter's the one that ends up doing all of the calling.

He texts Happy about a million times every day and leaves countless voicemails. The man picked up his calls on the first day, then quickly began ignoring them. Darwin can't blame him, to be honest. He's glad that Peter is excited, but Darwin is afraid he's coming off as a bit desperate. It's obvious that the kid assumed he was going to become some sort of Avenger-in-training after what went down in Germany. Admittedly, Darwin is kind of relieved that he hasn't been recruited and is simply patrolling the city of Queens as usual, just in a much safer suit.

Stark seems to be keeping busy, however. He's on the news just about everyday, the news anchors discussing the superhero fiasco and keeping people up to date on what's going on with the Accords. Stark is apparently trying to negotiate a compromise with the United Nations, but so far it's been a slow process. He's also been suspiciously quiet about the Rogue Avengers, who escaped authorities after Zemo's involvement was revealed a few days after the Germany incident.

Darwin doesn't quite know what to think of the whole situation, but he's starting to lean towards the Rogue's side. The world was safer when the Avengers were together and it was wrong for the government to restrict them so severely. Not that they should be able to do whatever they want, but it seems to Darwin that the government was trying to control their every move. He thinks it's partially because they're intimidated by the superheroes' powers. A large group of super powered individuals probably made many government officials nervous, and what happened in Lagos and later in Vienna was probably the excuse they were waiting for to put restrictions on the Avengers.

'_Well, I hope Stark gets everything sorted out soon,' _Darwin thinks as he lies on a patch of grass, waiting for Peter to be done with school, '_The sooner this situation is put to rest, the better.' _

The summer passed by quickly. Peter spent a lot of his time out as Spider-Man, telling May that he was at his 'Stark Internship' so she wouldn't question why he was hardly ever home. Darwin used to wait for him on the roof while he was gone, but as the summer got hotter and hotter, he began just waiting for a few hours inside the apartment and only went up when he knew Peter would be returning soon. He spent a lot of time reading and watching TV, specifically watching movies about highschool in order to better help Peter during his sophomore year. The movies were very overwhelming- Darwin never realized so much drama went on during human teenage years.

Thankfully, Peter doesn't seem to be having much trouble with that now. Sophomore year has just started, but Darwin hasn't noticed anyone being particularly mean to Peter, aside from Flash. In fact, Darwin's nearly constant presence around Peter has garnered the boy a good amount of attention. He's known as 'the guy with the huge grey dog'. Students often pet Darwin after Peter leaves to go to class and sometimes, if Peter doesn't immediately jump out of school, people will gather around Darwin and pet him until Peter arrives.

Like now, for example.

The bell rings and students start flooding out the doors. A pretty girl that Darwin has taken a liking to approaches him and scratches his head. She always has bright and bubbly emotions when she comes to pet him. Her name is Liz and she's the captain of Peter's Academic Decathlon team. He also knows that Peter has a massive crush on her but is too shy to do anything about it.

'_I can help with that,' _Darwin thinks cheekily.

"Hi, Darwin," Liz greets cheerfully as she scratches behind his ears, "How are you doing today? You waiting for Peter? Oh, such a good boy!"

Darwin wags his tail and licks her chin. She giggles and brushes her hair back. Darwin sniffs. Another thing he likes about Liz is that she has a weirdly familiar scent on her. He can't tell what it is because he's certain he's never met her before, but something about it just sticks to his mind.

A few minutes later, Peter walks out of the school with Ned by his side. His eyes light up when he sees them, his gaze lingering on Liz. Ned whispers something to him and he quickly puts on a nervous smile and walks over.

"H-hey Liz," he stutters breathlessly.

"Hey Peter," she greets smoothly, "I can't get over how cute your dog is. It's so cool how he just waits for you for so long and doesn't wander off. How'd you train him to wait for you?"

"Ah, I don't know," Peter laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Darwin and I- we're just really close, I guess."

"Peter's great with dogs!" Ned blurts out, "All animals, really!"

A flash of panic and Peter sharply elbows his friend. "Actually! Uh, just dogs, I mean, I've never had any other animals, and Darwin's really special-"

"You can say that again," Liz agrees, thankfully interrupting what would have been a nervous babble from Peter. She looks at Darwin and coos, "He's such a sweetheart."

Darwin glances between Liz and his boy. '_Well, c'mon Peter. Make a move.' _

Peter looks like he wants to say more but doesn't know. Instead, he just settles for smiling dreamily at Liz when she turns back to him.

'_Hmm, maybe he needs a little push.' _Darwin steps behind Liz and headbutts her in the rear, making her stumble forward and into Peter's arms. Peter catches her but immediately turns red-faced and jerks backwards.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" He squawks, "Darwin, bad boy!"

However, since Liz is great, she just laughs and says, "Oh, no, no it's okay! I think he's just telling me to get a move on, I've been keeping you too long. I'll see you later Peter, alright?"

With one last pat to Darwin's head, she smiles at Peter and walks away. He waves at her until she disappears and then groans.

"Wow," Ned snorts, "I never thought a dog would be a better wingman than me."

Darwin tilts his head as Peter sighs and starts towards the subway station. '_What? It's not my fault you have no game.'_

* * *

The next day, Peter decides to forgo the subway station and instead heads to Mr. Delmar's after school. Darwin has noticed that Peter has been eating a lot more often now that he's spending more time out as Spider-Man. He's not complaining, though, since he always gets a treat from Delmar when they visit.

"What's up, Mr. Delmar?" Peter greets as he enters the store, Darwin at his heels.

He grabs a couple of packs of gummy worms as Mr. Delmar says, "Hey, Mr. Parker. Number five, right?"

Setting the packs on the counter, Peter replies, "Yeah, um, and, uh, with pickles, and can you smush it down real flat? Thanks." He smiles at the deli clerk behind Mr. Delmar, who nods and goes over to the sandwich press.

Mr. Delmar smiles and asks, "How's your aunt?"

Darwin feels a flicker of discomfort from Peter. He glances down at the candies beneath the counter and says casually, "Yeah, she's alright."

Mr. Delmar then turns to the deli clerk and says, " La tía de él es una italiana muy bellissima."

"¿Ah, sí?" The other man replies.

Darwin glances between Mr. Delmar and Peter. '_What?'_

Whatever Mr. Delmar said, it seems to irk Peter a bit because the boy leans over and says with a slight smirk, "¿Cómo está tu hija, eh?"

The deli clerk gives a hoot from behind the counter as Delmar's grin fades.

'_God, I wish I knew French,' _Darwin thinks.

"Ten dollars," the man grunts.

Peter protests, "It's five dollars."

"For that comment, ten dollars."

"Hey, come on, I'm joking! I'm joking!" Peter pulls out some cash from his wallet and hands it over to Mr. Delmar, who reluctantly takes it with a grumpy look on his face. "Here's five dollars."

Peter then moves over to pet Murphy and Mr. Delmar glances at Darwin. The dog lets his tongue loll out of his mouth and tilts his head cutely. The man huffs and turns around, soon returning with a slice of ham that Darwin devours in one bite.

Mr. Delmar snorts, "Man, I don't know how you keep a thing this big fed. He must eat like a horse."

"Yeah, he does," Peter says as he comes back and grabs his gummy worms from the counter, "He's like a vacuum, he'll eat anything he can get his paws on. I'm just glad he never gets sick."

"Don't jinx it, kid," Mr. Delmar says as he hands Peter his sandwich, "Here you go."

"Thanks!"

Peter practically inhales his sandwich as they leave the shop and makes his way over to an empty alleyway. "Alright, bud, I'm gonna patrol for a bit, you head on home," Peter says as he takes off his backpack and starts changing into his suit, "Take my backpack too, kay, bud?"

Darwin gently picks up Peter's backpack in his mouth and waits for him to disappear over the roof of a building before starting home. The walk doesn't take too long, since the apartment is only 6 blocks away from Delmar's, and soon he's climbing up the fire escape and nosing Peter's bedroom window open. He sets down the backpack on the floor and glances around.

During the summer, Peter upgraded from a twin bed to a bunk bed. May found it for a great price and bought it for him as a surprise. Darwin's bed being next to Peter's bed made the room kind of crowded, but now Peter sleeps in the top bunk and Darwin sleeps on the bottom bunk.

Through their bond, Darwin can feel Peter's boredom. It seems like it's going to be a boring patrol. He considers taking a nap, but instead settles for dozing in front of the TV until May comes home. He's in the middle of an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine when she does finally return. She glances at him, then at the TV, then at the remote on the floor.

"I swear, you know how to use that thing," she snorts, setting down her purse and walking over, "Bet you just drop it on the floor until it turns on the TV. It's a miracle this thing hasn't broken yet."

Darwin grunts and licks her hand when she pets him. She giggles and walks over to the kitchen. "I'm trying a new recipe tonight!" She declares.

'_Uh oh,' _Darwin thinks.

"Turkey meatloaf!"

'_Looks like Peter's gonna be eating those gummy worms he bought earlier for dinner.' _

Half an hour later, while May is in the midst of her battle to conquer turkey meatloaf, Ned arrives. He is holding the Lego Death Star set in his hands and tells May that he and Peter were planning on building it together. She tells him Peter isn't home yet, but he's welcome to wait in his bedroom. As May reluctantly returns to the kitchen, Darwin slides off the couch and pads after Ned.

"Hey, buddy," Ned says, patting Darwin's head. He sits on the bottom bunk and takes out his phone.

'_Probably texting Peter,' _Darwin thinks, '_Good, that'll give him a heads up so he doesn't sneak in in his Spider-Man suit.'_

Darwin waits with Ned for a while. After about forty-five minutes, Ned sighs and begins slowly putting pieces of legos together. Darwin gets a bit antsy when he feels Peter panicking a bit and wonders if the boy has gotten himself into trouble. Ned has nearly finished building the entire Death Star by the time the dog hears Peter approaching the window.

His footsteps are soft against the side of the building and Darwin sees his hand, upside down, reaching towards the window.

'_What's he doing?' _Darwin thinks, '_He can't come in while wearing the suit! Does he know Ned is here? Uh oh, I should warn him!'_

The large dog then stands and lets out a volley of deep barks.

It doesn't work as well as he would have liked it to.

Ned startles at the loud, sudden noise and drops the Lego Death Star, causing it to shatter into a million pieces. Peter startles too, hard enough for him to let go of the side of the building and crash onto the fire escape. Hearing the crash, Ned jumps to his feet and turns as Peter grumbles and opens the window.

"Darwin, what the-"

Halfway through the window, he freezes when he sees Ned.

"What was that?" May calls from the kitchen.

Peter whips off his mask and stammers, "Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing!"

"You're the Spider-Man," Ned breathes staring at his friend in awe, "From YouTube."

Peter scrambles into the room. "I'm not! I'm not!" He presses the spider emblem on his chest, causing the suit to become baggy and fall off his body. "Ned, what are you doing in my room?"

"May let me in," Ned explains, "You said we were gonna finish the Death Star."

"You can't just burst into my room!" Peter hisses, but Darwin interrupts him with a low woof when he hears May walking over. He whips around and stumbles backwards when she walks in. Darwin casually noses Peter's suit under the bed.

"Why'd Darwin start barking?" May asks, "I don't think I've ever even heard him bark before."

"Uh, he just saw a squirrel on the fire escape," Peter lies.

"Yeah," Ned adds, "And I dropped the Death Star 'cause he scared me."

"Huh. Well, anyway, that turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster," May says, waving a rag in front of her face. Smoke is coming from the kitchen. "Let's go to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?"

"Yes-"

"No," Peter interrupts, "He's got a thing."

Ned catches on. "A thing to do after."

"Okay," May says, then pauses, her gaze running over Peter who's only wearing his boxers, "Maybe put on some clothes."

Peter grabs a shirt off of a chair and she leaves.

Immediately, Ned asks, "She doesn't know?"

"Nobody knows!" Peter says, then corrects himself, "I mean, Mr. Stark knows because he made my suit, and, well, Darwin knows because… well, who's he gonna tell- but that's it!"

Ned's eyes widen and he whispers, "Tony Stark made you that? Are you an Avenger?"

Peter hesitates, then nods sheepishly. "Yeah, basically."

Darwin headbutts him in the rear. '_Yeah, right.'_

Ned practically has to hold on to the railings of Peter's bunk bed to keep himself from fainting. Peter pushes Darwin's head away and leans towards Ned, hissing, "You can't tell anybody about this. You gotta keep it a secret."

"A secret. Why?"

It takes some aggressive back and forth whispers, but eventually Ned seems to grasp the seriousness of the situation and swears not to tell anybody. Peter lets out a sigh of relief and sits down heavily on the bottom bunk. Seeing his boy's stress, Darwin pads over and puts his head on his lap. Peter immediately starts kneading his fur anxiously and sighs again.

"I'm guessing you barked to warn me, huh, bud?" Peter mutters.

Ned's eyes widen and he exclaims, "Does Darwin have superpowers too? Is that why he's so smart? Can he understand us? Can he _talk-_"

"What? Ned, no!" Peter snaps, rolling his eyes, "No, he's just a dog."

"Are you sure?" Ned asks, seeming excited, "I mean, he's weirdly smart. He understands your every command, he waits for you during school, and you've said before that sometimes it seems like he's watching TV-"

"Ned, seriously, he's just a normal dog," Peter stresses, "My life is weird enough without me thinking my dog has superpowers, alright? Just- just go home, man. I'll tell you about everything at school tomorrow."

Ned seems to notice the other teen's agitation and agrees, leaving after bidding him goodbye.

Darwin lets out a sigh of relief. '_Glad that's over. Ned got a bit too close to the truth for comfort. Well, it's not like Peter could ever find out anyway. Kinda hard to prove my powers.'_

He can't help feeling a bit disappointed. He hasn't seriously been considering revealing his abilities to Peter, he doesn't even know how he'd do it, but he always liked to think that one day Peter would understand that he and Darwin have something special, a bond different than that of any other between boy and dog.

Speaking of said bond, Darwin feels a flash of worry from Peter and turns to see the boy lifting his shirt and looking in the mirror. He's twisted around so he can see his back, which has a few already fading bruises on it. Peter doesn't seem too concerned about his injuries and pulls his shirt back down, though he's still frowning. He's feeling very anxious and distracted and Darwin tilts his head.

'_What happened to you out there tonight?' _he wonders.

May eventually comes by and the three of them go out to eat dinner. Throughout the meal, though, it's obvious that Peter is distracted.

"What's the matter?" May asks, "Thought you loved larb. It's too larby?" Peter doesn't respond. "Not larby enough? How many times do I have to say "larb" before you talk to me? You know I larb you?"

Peter sighs and says, "I'm just stressed. The internship… and I'm tired. A lot of work."

May nods, looking a bit unimpressed. "The Stark Internship? I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark. Distracted all the time… he's got you in your head. And it's not just me that's noticed, alright? Look, even Darwin's upset."

They both glance down at Darwin who's lying at their feet, not seeming particularly upset. The dog looks up at Peter and follows the boy's gaze to a TV on the wall behind may.

The news anchor reports, "The beloved Queens' institution, Delmar's Sandwiches, was destroyed in an explosion earlier tonight after an ATM robbery was thwarted by Queens' own colorful local crime-stopper, the Spider-Man." May notices that Peter isn't paying attention to her and turns around to watch. "As the Spider-Man attempted to foil their heist, a powerful blast was set off, slicing through the bodega across the street. Miraculously, no one was harmed."

May turns back to Peter with a serious expression and says, "If you spot something like that happening, you turn and you run the other way."

Peter glances at her in surprise before nodding in fake seriousness. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course!"

Darwin snorts.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Peter decides to leave extra early to walk to school with Ned. His friend asks him question after question as they walk, looking like his dreams just came true after Peter answers every one. Darwin finds the conversation helpful as well. He's never heard Peter talk about how he got his powers before. After hearing the story about the field trip and the spider, however, Darwin frowns.

'_What kind of school lets a bunch of freshmen go on a field trip to a highly scientific research corporation and then doesn't have the decency to watch them and make sure they don't wander off and interrupt unknown laboratory experiments?' _Darwin thinks, '_Also, what was Oscorp doing with those spiders anyway? Seems suspicious to me.' _

They eventually come across Mr. Delmar's shop, which is burnt down and covered in police tape and barricades. Various police officers and detectives mill about. Overall, it's a very ugly scene.

"Woah," Ned says, "You were here?"

"Yeah."

Darwin's gaze wanders and falls upon a few familiar looking people standing across the street. It takes him a moment, but eventually he remembers that they're the government agents that Toomes was arguing with all those years ago after the Battle of Manhattan. He'd stumbled upon that scene by accident and didn't stay long, so he didn't catch any of their names, but now he wishes he had lingered.

The white-haired woman is talking with another agent and two men in hazard suits. They glance around suspiciously, obviously not wanting to be overheard.

Ned's voice brings him back to attention. "You could've died," he says, wincing. The teens stare at the damaged building for a few moments, their emotions apprehensive, before Ned asks, "Do you lay eggs?"

"What? No!" Peter laughs nervously.

'_Hmm,' _Darwin thinks, amused, '_You don't sound too sure.' _

As usual, Darwin hangs around Midtown High while Peter and Ned are in class. The August sun is stifling, so the Irish Wolfhound finds a nice patch of shade underneath a tree and lies down. He thinks back to his dilemma from the previous night.

'_I know I can't prove my powers to him,'_ he thinks, '_But maybe I can just hint at it? Show him I'm not just a normal dog?'_

Letting out a long sigh, Darwin shifts his head on his paws. It's been hours; school should be letting out any minute.

'_Peter's smart. I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually,' _his thoughts continue, '_I mean, he already knows I'm pretty intelligent, maybe I should just up that, do things other dogs wouldn't do…' _

The bell rings and kids start pouring out of the building. Darwin sits up and watches the students pass by, keeping an eye out for Peter. The boy soon appears, looking harried. Ned trots at his side.

"Don't worry about it man, it's gonna be fine," Ned is saying.

Peter doesn't look convinced. "Don't you think people are going to notice?" He asks, "I mean, the moment I disappear, Spider-Man shows up? A little suspicious, man."

Ned's eyes fall on Darwin and he perks up. "Then bring Darwin with you!" He says.

Peter looks horrified. "Are you kidding me?" He exclaims, stopping beside the dog, "It's a loud party with loud people and loud music- he's a _dog_, man. It's gonna bother him."

"No it won't," Ned reassures, "Darwin would follow you to the ends of the earth. And I've seen people with service dogs go to parties and their dogs don't seem to mind. Besides, if Darwin comes, not only will you be the cool guy who brought his dog to a party- because let's be real everyone loves dogs and people _really_ like Darwin- but he'll also let people know that you're there. Even if Peter Parker happens to be gone when Spider-Man shows up, everybody knows you'd never just leave your support dog at some party. It's a perfect plan, man, c'mon!"

Peter hesitates, then smiles a bit. "It _is_ a pretty good plan… I mean, it _could_ work…"

Ned looks at him expectantly, his eyes practically sparkling, and Peter turns to Darwin.

"We're going to a party tonight, bud!"

'_Uh oh,' _Darwin thinks as Ned lets out a whoop.

* * *

'_I can't do this.'_

Darwin sits in the backseat of the car next to Ned, who's wearing a very fetching hat. May drives the car and slowly pulls up next to a fancy-looking house with teenagers milling about.

'_I've seen Mean Girls, alright, and honestly I do not see the appeal of teen parties. I don't fit in this scene!' _Darwin's internal panic continues, '_What's Peter even doing? This is so unlike him!' _

The dog did not miss the fact that Peter put on his Spider-Man suit underneath his clothes while getting dressed. When Darwin grunted in confusion, Peter merely put a finger to his lips and smiled.

At least the boy has the decency to be nervous now.

"This is a mistake," he says, turning to May, "Hey, let's just go home."

May's expression morphs into one of concern. "Oh, Peter. I know, I know it's really hard trying to fit in with all the changes your body is going through. It's flowering now." Whatever Peter expected his aunt to say, that was not it. May turns to Ned and says, "He's so stressed out lately."

Ned smiles, giving Peter a look. "What helps with stress is going to a party. We should go to the party."

Peter hastily agrees and exits the car, soon followed by Ned and Darwin. After bidding May goodbye, they walk up the driveway towards the house.

"Dude, you have the suit, right?" Ned whispers excitedly. Peter pulls up his sleeve to give Ned a glimpse of his Spider-Man suit. Ned grins. "This is gonna change our lives!"

'_This is gonna be a disaster.' _

Just as they thought, the house is very boisterous and crowded. Loud music makes the floor vibrate as Peter and Ned glance around anxiously. Nobody seems to really pay attention to their arrival.

Darwin sniffs, unimpressed. '_So many sweaty teenagers.' _He's already not liking this. Everyone is clearly drunk and hormonal and he can't avoid their messy emotions. It's a bit overwhelming.

Ned turns to Peter and says lowly, "Okay, we're gonna have Spider-Man swing in, say you guys are tight, and then I get a fist bump or one of those half bro-hugs."

Peter nods, but before he can say anything, a girl standing at the counter says, "I can't believe you brought your dog to this lame party." She sounds bored and disinterested. "He shouldn't be subjected to this."

She walks away, leaving Ned and Peter confused behind her. They're quickly distracted by Liz, who comes over and greets them, sounding a bit surprised. As they talk, Darwin glances around. Something about this place seems… odd. That scent that Liz always carries, the one that always seems familiar to him, it's stronger here.

'_Which makes sense,' _Darwin thinks, '_I mean, it's her house, of course it would be stronger here. But what is it? Maybe, like, an object or something that I've smelled before?' _

It seems like some investigating is called for.

As Liz walks away, Ned whispers to Peter, "Dude, what are you doing? She's here. Spider it up."

"No, no, no." Peter shakes his head. "I can't… I cannot do this. Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I'm just gonna… be myself."

Darwin is proud of him for his mature decision. His pride lasts for about ten seconds, until Flash starts taunting Peter and the boy immediately changes his mind. He sighs as Peter gives Ned a smile and nods, disappearing.

'_Eh, too good to be true,' _Darwin thinks, '_But at least I can go investigate now.' _

He pads away, weaving through the crowd of teenagers. A few hands pet him as he passes by, but he ignores them. There are people crowding every corner, but upstairs looks a bit more promising. He climbs up to the second floor and pauses, glancing around. There are less people up here, probably because it seems that this is where the bedrooms are. Liz probably wouldn't want any teenagers snooping around her parents' room.

'_Good thing I'm not a teenager,' _he thinks as he pushes one door open, revealing a master bedroom. The familiar scent is stronger in here.

'_It must be a person then,' _Darwin thinks, walking in, '_But who?'_

There are a couple of pictures in frames on the bed stand. Darwin peers at one of them and blinks at the familiar face of Adrian Toomes.

'_Toomes!' _He thinks, '_That's who I was smelling! Adrian Toomes must be Liz's father!'_

As soon as he gets over his surprise, his heart swells fondly. He's glad to know that the man that had been nice enough to let him live in his Manhattan warehouse all those years ago is doing well. _Very_ well, actually. Darwin glances around at the large room and nice furniture.

'_He must've gotten a better job out here in Queens,' _he thinks, '_Good for him. He has a nice house and a nice family- he must be very happy.' _

Darwin wags his tail and sniffs around for a few more minutes. Despite still being able to hear the loud music from downstairs, it's much quieter up here. Darwin isn't too keen on returning to the party, especially if Peter isn't going to be there. He hopes the boy doesn't go through with the whole Spider-Man party trick.

Sighing, Darwin lies down on the carpet. '_I wonder what Toomes does now,' _he thinks, '_This place must be expensive, especially in this neighborhood. Hmm, well, at least I know that if Peter ends up marrying Liz that they'll be well off.' _

He chuckles to himself, then pauses. He can feel Peter getting farther and farther away. As usual, his paws start to itch and he becomes antsy and restless. Shifting uncomfortably, he lets out an anxious whine and glances around.

'_What is he doing? I thought he was going to go through with that party trick- why is he going somewhere else? Did something happen? Should I go after him? What if he doesn't come back?' _

After much deliberation, Darwin decides that it wouldn't do much to help Peter if he went after the boy. The dog figures he came across a couple of criminals and decided to step in. He rests his head, idly keeping a metaphorical eye on Peter through their bond. But all he feels are the usual emotions that come with patrolling. That is, until Peter feels _surprise! Fear- terror, terror, TERROR! _

Darwin leaps to his paws, his heart racing. '_Peter!' _

As quickly as the emotions came, however, they're gone. Soon, they're replaced by relief, confusion and, a few minutes later, irritation and indignance. Darwin is bewildered. '_What the hell has he gotten himself into?'_

His thoughts are interrupted by footsteps coming up the staircase. The bedroom door swings open, revealing Liz Toomes looking a bit harried.

"Darwin?" She sounds confused. "What are you doing up here, honey?" Darwin wags his tail half-heartedly as she walks towards him and crouches down, petting him. She smiles and asks, "Did you lose Peter? I haven't seen him in a while."

Normally, the Wolfhound would love to spend time with Liz, but he's too worried about Peter to think of anything else. Still, he licks Liz's hand, making her giggle, before trotting out of the room. Downstairs, the party is still as hectic as ever.

Darwin quickly finds Ned, who is on his phone.

"Actually, I was calling to say maybe you shouldn't come," Ned says. Darwin perks up. '_He must be talking to Peter.' _Ned lifts the phone and says, "Listen to this."

Darwin is confused for a moment, but then actually listens to the loud sounds around him and easily finds Flash's voice.

"When I say 'Penis', you say 'Parker'! Penis!" Flash shouts.

"Parker!" The crowd shouts back.

"Penis!"

"Parker!"

Darwin growls as Ned says to Peter, "Sorry, Peter. I guess we're still losers. I'll see you tomorrow." He moves to put his phone away, but Darwin gently puts his mouth on his wrist to stop him. Ned gives him a surprised look, but before he can say anything, Darwin turns around and marches towards Flash, who is still chanting 'Penis Parker' with the crowd.

Then, in front of a crowd of drunk teenagers, many with their phones out, Darwin lifts his hind leg and pisses on Flash.

The crowd immediately roars with laughter as Flash sputters. He stumbles back, his face contorted with rage and embarrassment.

"What the fuck?" He spits, "Get the fuck outta here, you mutt!"

Much to Darwin's surprise, he actually tries to kick him. The dog steps back so his foot misses, but then lunges forward and lets out a threatening bark. Flash flinches and stumbles backwards, trips over his own feet and ends up falling on his ass. The crowd laughs and Darwin lifts his nose indignantly and turns away, sauntering back over to Ned.

Ned looks like he's about to pass out from how hard he's laughing. "OhmyGod- Da- Darwin," he wheezes, "That was amazing! Oh my God I have to tell Peter right now! C'mon, let's get outta here!"

Once they're outside, Ned calls Peter and gushes, "Oh my God, Peter, you will not believe what just happened! Right after I hung up, Darwin went over to Flash and pissed on him in front of everyone! It was the greatest thing I've ever seen! Everyone was laughing their asses off!" Darwin hears Peter exclaim over the phone and Ned quickly continues, "But that's not all! Then Flash got super pissed and tried to kick him! Don't worry, he missed and Darwin barked at him and he got so scared he fell on his ass! But now everyone's upset with Flash 'cause they saw him try to kick a dog- like, who does that?" Ned laughs, "I don't think we'll have to worry about that asshole for a while, he's probably _soooo _embarrassed!"

"Oh my God!" Darwin hears Peter say. He sounds like he doesn't know whether he's horrified or amused. "I can't believe he did that!"

"I hope someone took a video of it! I had my phone out, but I just couldn't believe that it was actually happening so I totally forgot," Ned says, "Hey, by the way, how's Darwin gonna get home? My mom's gonna pick me up soon."

"Crap, I didn't even think-Whoa, what's that?" Peter asks.

"What's what?"

"There's this weird glowy thing on the ground… must've come from one of the weapon dealers I was chasing…"

"You were chasing weapon dealers?" Ned exclaims, "Why didn't you tell me? What happened?"

"Uh- look, it's a long story, I'll tell you tomorrow during school. I gotta get this thing somewhere safe. Just tell Darwin to go home. He knows this city like the back of his hand-er, paw."

"Are you sure?" Ned sounds uneasy, "I mean… he's a dog."

"Ehhh, you might've been onto something when you were talking about how weirdly smart he is earlier," Peter admits.

Ned perks up, looking at Darwin with practically sparkling eyes. "Really?! So you _do_ think he has superpowers?"

"No," Peter says exasperatedly, "He's just… I don't know, smart, ya know? Smart enough to find his way home. I trust him."

"Alright," Ned agrees, "Hey, you said you were chasing weapon dealers? Bring that glowy thing you found to school tomorrow. Maybe we can find out what it is during shop class."

"Sure."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, man." Ned hangs up and turns to Darwin. He smiles, looking excited. "I know there's something different about you, bud," he says softly, "Peter doesn't see it because he's never had a dog before, but I have, and I know just something…" He trails off, but then straightens up and commands, "Go home, Darwin."

Darwin blinks and turns away. Behind him, he hears Ned stifle a squeal of excitement. The dog rolls his eyes and walks down the street.

'_Just because I know the city like the back of my paw doesn't mean I wouldn't have appreciated a ride home,' _he thinks in mild annoyance.

* * *

This time, it's Peter who waits for him on the roof. He quickly goes through his window to change into regular clothes, then heads down with Darwin to enter the building through the front door like a normal person. May greets them happily and asks how the party was. Peter makes the conversation as short as possible before disappearing into his room with his dog.

Then, they're both staring at a purple glowing stone inside of a metal casing sitting on Peter's desk.

Darwin's heart fills with dread. '_This can't be good,' _he thinks.

Peter, on the other hand, feels excited. "Oh, Darwin," he says, "You will not _believe_ what happened to me tonight."


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the mixup with chapters.**

That night, Peter tells Darwin all about what happened to him after he left the party, and Darwin finds himself wholeheartedly agreeing with Stark.

'_Oh, please stay away from the flying Vulture guy,' _Darwin thinks as he watches Peter slip the damaged weapon into his backpack the next morning, '_You should not be getting involved in this. You chase car thieves and stop muggers- you're not ready for this!'_

Despite agreeing with Stark on this matter, he also feels the man is slightly to blame for this happening. He gave the suit to Peter to protect him, but in doing so he also legitimized his Spider-Man activities so now the boy thinks he's some sort of young Avenger instead of a teenage vigilante with hardly any experience. He has no business getting involved in tracking down weapons dealers, especially not _alien_ weapons dealers.

But what can Darwin do?

The dog watches with anxiety tugging at his heart as Peter disappears into school that day. He spends the next few hours in a constant state of worry, pacing around.

'_They don't know what that thing is, they shouldn't be messing around with it!' _Darwin thinks, '_It smells wrong! It looks wrong! It-'_

At least Peter doesn't feel like he's in any danger throughout the school day. Curious and suspicious, but none of the emotions he feels when he's about to go into a fight.

The bell suddenly rings and a wave of students exit the building. Darwin jumps up onto the concrete railing he sat on the first time he followed Peter to school. He peers over the heads of students, a few of which pat him on their way out, but he can't spot his boy. Thirty minutes go by and soon there are only a handful of students lingering around. Still no Peter. Through their bond, he can feel the boy lingering inside of one of the classrooms.

Darwin is about to hop off the railing when he spots two suspicious-looking men in the parking lot. They're obviously not students nor the parents of some and they glance around furtively to see if anyone is watching. Darwin frowns and hops off the railing, quietly approaching them as they walk towards the back entrance of the school.

"You sure it's here, man?" One of them asks, "It's a high school."

"It's where the readings led me," the other grunts. He's holding some sort of device.

Darwin stalks silently behind them as they enter the school. He cautiously sniffs the air and his eyes widen. '_They smell like the weapon! They must be the dealers Peter is looking for! I need to find him, that weapon is gonna lead them straight to him!'_

The two men turn down another hallway and Darwin follows, keeping a safe distance between them. His bond with Peter starts to become more faint, so he knows the boy must be close. The men pause, glance down at the device that one is holding, and then enter a classroom. Darwin waits a moment before following.

There are stairs leading down into a basement-looking area full of engineering equipment. '_This must be Peter's shop class,' _Darwin thinks, peeking his head into the room. He watches from atop the stairs as the two men begin rummaging around the room.

A tug on his tail nearly has him flinching out of his skin. Whirling around, he sees Peter staring at him with wide eyes.

"Darwin!" He hisses almost inaudibly, "Get out! Go away!" He tries to push past the dog, but Darwin stubbornly stands in his way.

'_I won't let you get yourself killed!'_

Peter begins to grow angry with him and wraps his arms around him, ready to heave him away, but the voice of one of the men has them both freezing.

"Can you imagine what the boss would say if he knew where we were?" One man says.

The other replies as he waves the device he's holding over the table, "It's saying there was an energy pulse right here."

Darwin blinks, and the next thing he knows, Peter has slipped past him and is down the stairs. '_Peter!'_

The boy slips his backpack off and crawls under a table.

"There's no sign of the weapon," the first man says, "And even if it was here, now it's gone."

"So are we," the second man says, turning towards the door.

Darwin pulls his head back quickly and holds his breath. '_Please don't find Peter, please don't find Peter, please don't find Peter,' _he thinks.

There's a moment of silence, and then Darwin hears the click of a gun holster. Heart leaping to his throat, Darwin hops into the room and lets out a bark.

Both men flinch and stare at him. One has his hand on his gun attached to his hip.

"What the fuck?" One man says.

Putting on his best innocent expression, Darwin trots down the stairs and stops in front of them. He sits down and scratches his ear with his hind leg.

"It's a dog," the first man says.

"I know what a dog looks like, Randy!" The man with the gun snaps. To Darwin's relief, he takes his hand off the weapon. "I'm just surprised there's a dog in a goddamn high school."

"Maybe it belongs to one of the kids."

There's a flicker of movement and Darwin glances to the side to see Peter clinging to the underside of a table. His wrist is out and the dog watches as he shoots a tiny robotic spider at one of the men's shoes.

'_A tracker,' _Darwin thinks.

"Let's get outta here, man."

The two men quickly leave and Peter lets out a sigh of relief, crawling out from underneath the table.

"That was way too close," he says. He then frowns and glances at Darwin. "Wait, why were you following them in the first place?"

Darwin lets his tongue loll and tilts his head innocently.

* * *

Peter fills in Ned on what happened as they walk back to the apartment. His friend listens with wide eyes and grabs Peter's arm.

"Dude!" He exclaims, "Dude, he could be, like, your spy dog!"

Peter blinks. "What."

"A spy dog!" Ned repeats, "I mean, he's already like crazy smart for a dog, and _nobody_ would suspect a dog to be a spy- you said those guys didn't try to hurt Darwin or anything. If you ever need to spy on someone, you could, like, send Darwin after them with, like, uh, a recording device or something, and even if he's spotted, no one will suspect a thing!"

He seems proud of himself, but Peter doesn't look impressed.

"Ned," he says, "I don't need a dog to spy on people, I already have tracking devices." Ned's face falls and Peter adds, "Besides, that was way too close. I don't want to put Darwin in any more dangerous situations." He puts his hand on the dog's head and Darwin wags his tail, licking his hand reassuringly.

It's Friday, so May lets the boys stay up late. They spend the night keeping an eye on a hologram, displaying a map of the city and where the tracking device is going. It goes for a few hours and Darwin begins to feel less anxious.

'_Maybe if they go far enough, Peter won't be able to go after them,' _he thinks.

He puts his head on Peter's lap as the boy does his homework at his desk. Eventually, though, he's finished with that and is looking for something else to entertain him. Usually, he spends a few hours after school patrolling before doing his homework, eating, and then going to sleep. He didn't patrol today, however, so now he has extra time on his hands.

Eventually, he settles for curling up on the bottom bunk with Darwin, tapping away at his phone. Darwin sighs happily, breathing in his boy's scent as he rests his head on his chest.

'_This is nice,' _he thinks, '_With Ned finding out about Spider-Man, Liz's party, and now this weapons dealer stuff, it seems like Peter has barely had any time to cuddle with me. He must be so stressed.'_

Lifting his head, he gives the boy a big wet lick on his face. Peter grimaces and pushes his muzzle away with a snort.

Suddenly, Ned says, "They stopped."

Peter perks up and peers at the hologram. "Mayland?"

"What's there?" Ned asks.

"I don't know. Evil lair?"

"They have a lair?"

Peter gives him an incredulous look. "Dude, a gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings. Yeah, they have a lair."

Ned nods, pleased. "Badass. But how are you gonna get there if it's, like, 300 miles away?"

They both turn and look at an Academic Decathlon poster. Peter smirks, fueling Darwin's anxiety. "It's not too far from D.C."

"Think they'd let you back on the team?" Ned asks.

Peter shrugs and replies, "It's not like I ever quit, I just said I wouldn't be able to make it to the competition. I could just show up tomorrow and see if they'd let me come along."

"Yeah," Ned says, "The competition's on Sunday, so once everybody's settled down in the hotel on Saturday night, you can sneak out and check out these bad guys."

Peter agrees, then glances at Darwin. "I'm not sure if they'd let me bring Darwin," he says, "I mean, it's a school trip. It's a long bus ride and I don't know if the hotel is dog friendly and then I'm gonna be going out as Spider-Man and-"

"Relax, man," Ned reassures him, "You two can spend a weekend away from each other."

Peter looks less confident. "I don't know, I haven't really been apart from him ever since I got him. What if he freaks out while I'm gone?"

"Then it's a good thing it's the weekend and May will be home."

Peter hesitates, looking down at the dog. Darwin gives him his best puppy eyes and thinks, '_Please, don't leave me.' _

Sighing, Peter looks up at Ned with a determined expression.

"Alright, let's go."

'_Crap.'_

* * *

Darwin considers following Peter and Ned to DC, but that plan is ruined when May tells the boys, "Oh, don't worry about Darwin. We'll be having fun _all weekend long_! Isn't that right, baby?"

Despite the stream of curses in his head, Darwin licks her hand in response.

'_Okay, this isn't ideal, but this isn't awful,' _he thinks after Peter leaves the next day, '_They're only going to an Academic Decathlon competition while carrying an alien weapon core and running a side mission of tracking down arms dealers. What's the worst that could happen?'_

Apparently, the worst that could happen is the weapon core exploding in the Washington Monument.

Of course, the news anchors don't mention the core being the cause of the explosion, but he knows that Peter's team was going to go there after their competition, so it must be the cause. Spider-Man isn't far behind, and Darwin watches with anxiety as the vigilante climbs higher and higher before breaking into a window at the top and slipping inside. Many tense minutes later, the news anchor announces that Spider-Man saved an Academic Decathlon team from Queens.

Darwin isn't the only one riddled with anxiety. May watches the news with tears in her eyes, frantically calling the school and Peter repeatedly. Once she gets word of their safe return to school, she grabs her keys and her purse and says, "Let's go, Darwin!"

It took awhile for the bus to drive the team back, so when they arrive at the school it's night time. All around, families are reuniting with their children, worried parents weeping despite their children being okay. Peter repeatedly reassures May that he's alright, but he feels exhausted and conflicted. Darwin pads up to him and licks his hand and the boy hugs his head.

"Mom," someone says behind him and he glances over his shoulder.

A few feet away, Liz is being embraced by a woman, her mother presumably. A moment later, a familiar face appears and Liz smiles. "Hey, dad."

Mr. Toomes hugs her and Darwin wags his tail. He looks different since the last time they saw each other. Older, of course, given that it's been a few years.

'_I wonder if he'd recognize me,' _Darwin thinks.

"C'mon, bud," Peter says, snapping him out of his thoughts. Darwin turns around and follows him back to the car, getting ready for the drive home.

Later, once they're back in the apartment and Peter is in bed, he whispers excitedly to Darwin about what happened.

"I've totally got it figured out, buddy," the boy whispers, "The guy with the wings must be stealing stuff from Damage Control to make the weapons. All I gotta do is catch him and Mr. Stark will definitely make me an Avenger! And since he's moving the base upstate, I can kiss high school goodbye!"

Darwin gives a low grumble in response. It definitely doesn't sound positive, but somehow Peter takes it as a sound of agreement.

"Don't worry," he says, "I'll definitely bring you with me."

'_Of course you will,' _Darwin thinks, '_I let you out of my sight for one day and you go and blow up the Washington Monument! Sheesh! And, yeah, you can kiss high school goodbye when you get expelled for ditching the decathlon nationals!'_

Peter doesn't get expelled, but he does get detention when he goes to school on Monday. Darwin waits outside, wondering what's taking him so long, but Peter eventually returns with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Sorry I'm late, 'Win," he says, "Got detention, but I snuck out. C'mon, I've got bad guys to catch."

Darwin stares at him incredulously. '_Is this how parents feel when they realize they've raised a delinquent?' _

May's not in the apartment when they get home, which pleases Peter. He goes to his room and puts on his Spider-Man mask. Despite Peter having mentioned Karen the night before, Darwin is still surprised to hear a small voice coming from the mask.

"Listen, I was wondering if you could help me," Peter says, "I'm trying to figure out who the guys under the bridge were that night, but I mean, I can only kind of remember part of the license plate."

Karen responds and Darwin watches them converse for a few minutes. He snorts at the 'Baby Monitor Protocol' and Peter's impressions in the mirror. He remembers Peter doing them on one Saturday morning when May wasn't home. It seems like ages ago.

"Aaron Davis, huh?" Peter says, "Let's pay him a visit."

The sound of keys jingling in the front door startles them both. Peter whips off his mask and winks at Darwin. "Tomorrow, then."

"Peter! I'm home! And I'm gonna take another shot at making fish!"

Peter groans and Darwin gives him a smug look. '_Serves you right.'_


	12. Chapter 12

Peter does something odd the next morning.

As he gets dressed for school, he puts the Spider-Man suit on underneath. Darwin lifts his head and makes a questioning sound. Peter glances at him, smiles, and then puts a finger to his lips.

"I'm heading to school now, Aunt May," he calls out, walking over to the door with Darwin at his heels.

"Okay, have a good day, honey!"

Peter doesn't head to school, however.

Instead, he ducks into an alley and starts taking his civilian clothes off, shoving them into his backpack and leaving him with only his Spider-Man suit. Peter then gives the backpack to Darwin, who takes it in his mouth hesitantly.

"Alright, bud, we're doing something a little different today," he whispers excitedly, "I'm gonna go interrogate Aaron Davis, so just stay here and I'll be back in a few hours."

'_You're ditching school?' _Darwin thinks disapprovingly.

Peter begins to turn away, but the Wolfhound abruptly turns and trots out of the alley.

"Hey! Darwin! Where are you going?"

Peter chases after him and he stops, glancing from the boy to their usual path to school. Peter frowns and says, "We're not going to school today, bud. Stay here."

'_You shouldn't be ditching school,' _Darwin thinks, '_You're a teenager, not an Avenger. Stop acting like you don't have any other responsibilities.'_

He turns away and begins walking. Before he can take more than two steps, Peter jumps in front of him with a "Hey! Okay, you know what-"

Peter grabs the backpack out of his mouth and webs it to the side of the building. He turns back to the dog with a frown.

Darwin wants so badly to protest. '_Peter, you need to stop-'_

"rrRRrrroooOOOO!"

Peter and Darwin both blink in surprise at the sound that comes out of the dog's mouth. "What was that?" Peter laughs, "You're so weird." He pats Darwin on the head, then pulls on his mask and swings up onto the rooftops.

Darwin sighs in defeat. '_I've gotta figure out a way to talk to this kid,' _he thinks, '_He's going to get himself killed. He needs a mentor, someone to guide him… wait a minute, Stark would stop him! I should find him.' _As soon as he has the thought, he shakes his head, '_No, that would be too suspicious. Besides, Peter says he's moving away. I wouldn't even know where to find him.'_

All he can do is sit and wait. It's never frustrated him so much before- he feels so useless. As usual, he keeps a metaphorical eye on Peter through their bond. It boggles his mind how quickly the boy can go from one emotion to another. First nervousness, then determination, then indignance, then excitement. Hours pass and Darwin starts to get worried.

'_How long does it take to interrogate a guy?' _

Peter suddenly feels a jolt of fear and Darwin flinches in surprise. His bondmate feels like he usually does when he's going into an intense battle, but it's obvious this one is going south quickly. A blur of emotions sweep through a few moments later- relief, followed by anxiety and guilt.

'_Maybe I should find a TV,' _Darwin thinks, leaving the alley, '_Maybe something big is going down.' _Honestly, he just can't stand sitting still for another moment.

To his surprise, he's proven correct once he finds a TV. It's in the outside area of a sports bar, and while most of the TVs are playing some sports games, the one playing the news has garnered most of the attention of the bar's s.

A ferry has been cut in half- no doubt thanks to those alien weapons- and Iron Man and Spider-Man are working to put the ship back together. However, it's obvious that Iron Man is doing most of the work, with Spider-Man hopping after him. Eventually, Spider-Man disappears, and while some people continue to watch, it's obvious that the cleanup is going to take a while. It's dusk when it's finally announced that there are no casualties and Iron Man flies off. Darwin takes it as his cue to leave and begins walking back to the alley where Peter left his backpack.

Said boy feels awful and the feeling only worsens as more time passes. Darwin figures that Stark is giving him a talking-to. He hopes it doesn't take long- it's late and May must be worried. By the time Peter does show up, it's getting dark and he doesn't swing into the alleyway, he walks. He's not wearing his suit, but Hello Kitty sweatpants and an oversized tourist T-shirt. He looks exhausted as he approaches Darwin and the dog stands up in alarm.

He watches as Peter kneels down in front of him before lunging forward and wrapping his arms around him, dissolving into tears. Darwin's heart clenches.

'_Oh, my poor boy,' _he thinks, '_I know. I know you're upset.'_

"God, I messed up," Peter lets out a choked sob, his tears making the dog's fur wet, "I fucked up so bad."

Darwin licks him soothingly and, after a few minutes, the boy's sobs soften and he slowly pulls away, looking ten times more exhausted than before. He wipes his eyes tiredly and stands up. Without another word, he grabs his backpack and starts walking back to the apartment, Darwin at his heels.

Of course, May is already home at this time and she glares at Peter when he knocks on the door. She inhales deeply and storms inside, Peter and Darwin following behind her.

"I've been calling you all day," she stresses, "You didn't answer your phone. You can't do that. Then this ferry thing happens. I've called five police stations! Five! I called five of your friends, I called Ned's mother-"

"May, I'm okay. Honestly, just relax, I'm fine," Peter says exasperatedly.

May whirls around and fixes Peter with a hard look. "Cut the bullshit. I know you left detention. I know you left the hotel room in Washington. I know you sneak out of this house every night. That's not fine. Peter you have to tell me what's going on! Just lay it out. It's just me and you."

Darwin glances up at Peter. '_You should tell her,' _he thinks. But then, to his surprise, Peter's eyes fill up with tears again.

"I lost the Stark Internship," he chokes out.

"What?

'_What?' _Darwin thinks, perplexed, '_There is no Stark Internship, that was just a coverup for- ohhhhh. Oh, Peter. No wonder he doesn't have his suit anymore- Stark must've taken it back.' _

Peter sits down heavily and May hugs him. Darwin walks over to Peter and licks his face. His whiskers tickle the boy and he huffs, softly pushing the dog's snout away.

"Look," May says, smiling, "He's saying 'don't worry, it's alright'."

Peter sniffs. "Yeah." He stands up and walks away. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay."

May and Darwin gaze after him for a few moments in silence. Then, May turns to look at him. She smiles sadly and gently pets his head. "Well, at least you were with him today," she says softly, her eyes downcast, "At least _someone's_ keeping him safe." She murmurs the last part and Darwin nudges her hand with his nose, making her smile a bit.

Later that night, Peter curls up with Darwin on the bottom bunk. Unlike most nights, he doesn't tell the dog about his most recent Spider-Man adventure. Instead, he just holds him and buries his head in his fur, sniffling occasionally until he falls asleep.

The following week is very calm, considering what just happened.

Peter doesn't go out as Spider-Man, even though he still has his old suit hidden somewhere. Instead, he spends his free time catching up on homework, hanging out with Ned, and he even gives Darwin a bath. He has detention for the whole week, so Darwin has to wait a bit longer for him to get out of school.

Today, however, something exciting seems to have happened because Peter is feeling jittery and happy. He soon sees the boy dashing out of the school with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh my God, Darwin!" He gasps, "I have a date with Liz! I mean, I mean- I asked her to be my date for homecoming! Oh my God, what do I do, I can't believe I did that!"

Glad that his bondmate is back to stressing about normal teenage things, Darwin wags his tail and licks his hand. '_Well, c'mon, then, we've gotta get you ready,' _he thinks. Turning, he begins leading the way to the subway station.

May likes to leave work early on Fridays, so she's at home by the time they get to the apartment.

"Aunt May, I need your help!" Peter exclaims.

May stares at him with a surprised expression. He tells her about his date and she squeals with delight, grabbing her purse and dragging the boy out the door. Darwin follows and they spend the next couple of hours shopping for dress shirts and pants. Peter is a vibrating mess of energy all throughout the night and the next day. He starts getting ready way too early, but it ends up actually helping since it takes him nearly an hour to learn how to tie a tie properly. It's amusing to watch both May and Peter struggle with the task until they turn to YouTube for help. Once he's fully dressed, May teaches him the basics of dancing until it's time to leave.

"Okay, you sure Liz is gonna be okay with Darwin coming?" May asks for the fifth time, adjusting the mini bowtie she attached to Darwin's collar.

"Yeah, yeah, she likes him, don't worry," Peter reassures her, "I'm pretty sure she knows he's, like, my support dog, so… And she said her dad was cool with having him in the car."

"Good." May straightens up and grins at Peter. "You ready to go?"

The drive feels very short and before they know it, Peter and Darwin are standing in front of Liz's door. Peter knocks and shifts nervously as footsteps approach from the other side. The door swings open, revealing Toomes, who grins at Peter.

"You must be Peter," he says, sounding friendly. He glances at the dog and asks, "And, uh, Darwin, right?"

Darwin wags his tail, but then notices how still Peter has become beside him. '_He's probably just nervous,' _he thinks, but frowns slightly at the boy's shock.

"Yeah," Peter says.

"I'm Liz's dad," Toomes replies, holding his hand out. Peter grabs it and Toomes looks surprised. "Hell of a grip. Come on in here. Come on."

Peter follows Toomes inside and the door closes behind them. They walk towards the kitchen, but Peter is very slow and hesitant the whole time. He feels horrified. '_What could possibly be wrong?' _Darwin wonders.

"Hi, Peter," Liz' mother greets them, "You look very handsome. Oh, and so do you!" She grins when she sees Darwin's bowtie, "I love the little bowtie you put on him."

"Thank you."

"I'm gonna go get Liz."

"Okay."

Peter is increasingly becoming more freaked out. In fact, he's actually sweating. He turns to Toomes, looking like he's expecting a fight.

Darwin isn't the only one that notices.

"You alright, Pete?" Toomes asks, "Because you look pale. You want something to drink? Like a bourbon or a scotch or something like that?"

"I'm not old enough to drink," Peter stammers.

"That's the right answer." Toomes eyes widen as he looks behind Peter. "Wow. Wow, wow, wow, do you look beautiful."

Peter turns to see Liz enters wearing a pretty red dress. However, he barely seems to be paying attention to her as she enters the conversation. He abruptly hands her the corsage when she asks, still staring at Toomes.

'_Okay, something weird is going on here,' _Darwin thinks, '_He's acting like Toomes is some sort of bad guy, like he's… oh.' _It's ridiculous how easily all the pieces fall together. Toomes's previous encounter with Damage Control, his fancy new house, the alien weapons dealers that Peter was chasing. '_He must've gotten a good look at one of them. It must be Toomes! That's why he's so tense! He's been fighting Toomes and now he's in his house but the man has no idea it's him!'_

Peter puts on a tense grin as Liz's mother takes pictures of them. He keeps his eyes on Toomes.

'_Oh, geez, Pete, don't make it so obvious,' _Darwin thinks, nosing the boy's hand. That seems to snap him out of whatever shock he's in and he blinks.

"Sir, you don't have to drive us," he says.

Toomes waves him off and grabs his jacket. "Nah, nah, it's no big deal. I'm going out of town, it's right on my way." He doesn't feel suspicious to Darwin. In fact, his emotions are quite open and friendly.

"He's always coming and going," Liz's mother says, only further confirming Darwin's suspicions of Toomes being the Vulture.

"Last time," Toomes reassures her. He kisses his wife goodbye and herds the two teenagers and one dog into the car. "By the way, Pete, what kind of dog is that?" He asks as Darwin squeezes himself beside Peter's feet.

Peter blinks in surprise. "Oh, uh, an Irish Wolfhound."

"Ah," Toomes muses, "I could've sworn I've seen a dog like him before. A big old grey dog like him, living in this old warehouse I had."

"You never told me you had a dog," Liz exclaims as they drive off.

"Eh, he wasn't really mine, he was just a stray I fed a couple of times."

Liz turns to Peter and asks, "Didn't you say Darwin used to be a stray?"

"Uh, yeah."

Toomes has a contemplative look on his face for a moment, then waves it off. "Well, anyway, it was a long time ago, who knows if that dog is even around anymore. So, what are you gonna do, Pete?"

"What?"

"When you graduate, what do you think you're gonna do?"

"Oh, um," Peter stammers, "I don't know."

Liz chastizes her father, who just claims he's trying to get to know Peter better, and then says, "Peter has an internship with Tony Stark. So, I think he doesn't have to worry."

"Really?" Toomes asks, surprised, "What do you do?"

Peter glances at him nervously, "Yeah, actually, I don't intern for him anymore."

Liz turns to Peter, frowning. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, it got, um… boring."

"It was boring? You got to hang out with Spider-Man."

Darwin hides his face behind Peter's knee, cringing as the conversation goes on. '_Peter, he's getting suspicious,' _ he thinks, '_What are you going to do?' _

Toomes asks if he's ever met Peter before because his voice sounds familiar, then Liz brings up the party and how Peter disappears often, even in DC when Spider-Man saved them. Toomes stares at Peter through the rearview mirror, not even noticing the greenlight until the car behind them honks. Darwin grows nervous as the man begins to feel hostile.

Eventually, they reach the school and Toomes stops the car. "Here we are. End of the line," he says. As Liz gets out, he adds, "You head in there, gumdrop. I'm gonna give Peter the, uh, the 'dad talk'."

Liz rolls her eyes and tells Peter not to let himself get intimidated before kissing her father's cheek and leaving. Darwin takes her spot, glad to not be squished anymore, but he tenses up when Toomes turns to Peter with a gun in his hand.

"Does she know?" He asks seriously.

Peter tries to play dumb. "Know what?"

Toomes seems pleased. "So she doesn't. Good. Close to the vest. I admire that. I've got a few secrets of my own. Of all the reasons I didn't want my daughter to date…" He cracks a grin and shrugs. "Peter, nothing is more important than family. You saved my daughter's life. I could never forget something like that. So I'm gonna give you one chance. Are you ready? You walk through those doors, you forget any of this happened. And don't you ever, ever interfere with my business again. Because if you do, I'll kill you and everyone you love. I'll kill you dead. That's what I'll do to protect my family. Do you understand?" Peter nods, not meeting Toomes's eyes. The man doesn't like that. "Hey, I just saved your life. Now, what do you say?"

Peter looks up. His eyes meet Toomes's. "Thank you," he says.

"You're welcome. Now, you go in there and you show my daughter a good time, okay? Just not too good."

After Toomes drives off, Darwin isn't surprised that Peter doesn't end up going to the party. He does feel bad that Liz ends up without a date, however. He follows Peter as he rushes through the hallway and lifts a row of lockers with one hand, picking his old Spider-Man suit from underneath it. He quickly ducks into a bathroom to get changed, but when he re-emerges, he tells Darwin, "Go home."

Darwin gives him an incredulous look. '_Are you serious? No way!' _

"Darwin, go home!" Peter orders, "Please, you need to go home." When Darwin doesn't move, Peter lets out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh, there's no time for this. At least just stay here."

He turns around and runs away. Even on four legs, Darwin has a hard time keeping up with him. Peter reaches the exit door first, but when he bursts out of it, someone hits him from behind. There's a bolt of electricity and Peter is thrown a few feet back, his web-shooters clattering beside him.

'_Peter!' _

The man is the same one that visited the school earlier, but he has his back to Darwin, who is by the door. "He gave you a choice," the man says, "You chose wrong. What's with the crappy costume?" Without waiting for an answer, he prepares his gauntlet for another shot.

Darwin's heart skips a beat. '_You leave my boy alone!'_

He charges forward just as Peter makes a break for his web-shooters. The man punches a school bus with the gauntlet, causing it to hit Peter, but before he can do anything else Darwin leaps on him from behind.

"Aghh! What the hell?!" The man shouts as Darwin's weight brings him down. He sinks his teeth into the man's shoulder, causing him to yell. An elbow jams into the dog's face, causing him to stumble backwards, and the man rolls onto his back and kicks him off. "Fucking mutt!"

As soon as he gets up, Peter is on him. However, one hit from the weapon sends him flying inside of a bus. The man advances after him, but Darwin bites his left arm, holding him back. Unfortunately, the left arm isn't the one with the weapon, so Darwin only has a second to process the sight of the gauntlet flying towards him before he feels a burning jolt of electricity and his mind succumbs to darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

"Darwin!" A voice cries out.

But it's not Peter's voice. Peter has just stumbled out of the bus to see Ned standing with a web-shooter in his hands, strands of webbing attached to the Shocker gauntlet. And his dog lying on the ground.

He quickly grabs the web, pulls the weapon down while also pulling the web-shooter towards him. He quickly webs the Shocker to the bus, sans weapon. Then, he runs to his dog.

"Darwin!" He exclaims, falling to his knees beside the unconscious Wolfhound, "Oh my God, Darwin, are you okay?! Wake up, buddy, c'mon, please!" Darwin doesn't move, but Peter can see a nasty burn on his shoulder where the Shocker hit him.

"Peter!" Ned exclaims, rushing over to them, "What is going on?!"

Peter jumps to his feet. "Ned! The guy with the wings is Liz's dad!"

"What?!"

"I know! I gotta tell Mr. Stark, I gotta, I gotta stop him, but-" He glances between Ned and Darwin, clearly conflicted. He doesn't want to leave his injured dog, but he has to catch Mr. Toomes.

Ned seems to understand. "Don't worry, man, I'll stay with him."

"Oh, thank you!" Peter gasps, "Call Happy Hogan. He's Mr. Stark's head of security. And, uh, get a computer to track my phone for me."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ned asks, but Peter has already turned and begun swinging away.

"Hurry, we gotta catch him before he leaves town!"

* * *

When Darwin wakes up, it feels like he's been unconscious for many hours. Someone has their hand on his flank and he can hear hushed voices around him.

"Okay, so while you were on your way back, I Googled what to do when your dog gets an electric shock. Apparently it's pretty common in puppies because they chew on wires and stuff-"

"Ned!"

"Right. So, I checked his heart and his breathing and he seems overall okay, it's mostly the burn we need to worry about. I guess it was a good thing I got kicked out of the computer lab because the gym has first aid stuff in the office. Anyway, so I've already cleaned the burn and I put Neosporin on it- don't worry, you can use that on dogs too- but apparently burns in dogs can get infected and they need antibiotics."

"Oh, God, I can't take him to the vet, May will find out and how the hell am I going to explain a giant burn to her?"

"Don't worry, his fur is already dark so maybe she won't noticed it's singed and it can hide the burn. As for the infection… eh, let's hope for the best?"

Fingers card through the fur on his head. A sigh. "I hope he's gonna be okay."

"Dude, are _you_ gonna be okay? You look like you just got hit by a bus."

_That _gets Darwin's attention. The dog blearily blinks his eyes open and glances at the two teenagers kneeling next to him. Peter's homemade Spider-Man suit is torn and burned in many places and his face is bruised and bleeding. Darwin whines and lifts his head.

'_What happened?' _

"Darwin!" Peter gasps. Darwin moves to get up, but Peter holds him down with a hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, bud, don't get up, you're hurt. Holy shit, I'm so glad you're okay!"

'_Toomes!' _Darwin remembers suddenly. He eyes Peter's injuries. '_Did you fight him? Did you win?'_

"Rrrroooooo…"

"Aww, I know, bud, I know it hurts," Peter soothes him, petting his head, "Such a brave boy, protecting me from the Shocker. I love you, but never do that again."

'_I would do it a thousand times over,' _Darwin thinks, pushing himself into a sitting position despite Peter's protests. His shoulder aches terribly, so puts his weight on his right paw and glances around. The lights are off and they're in the gym. Darwin briefly wonders how Ned got him in here.

Said boy stands up and pats Peter's shoulder. "I guess he's gonna be okay. It's getting late, though. My mom is going to be here any minute. Where did you leave your clothes?"

"Oh, in the bathroom next to English class."

"'Kay, I'll go get them. Maybe clean up a bit in the meantime, you're covered in ash and sand."

Ned disappears, but Peter doesn't get up. Instead, he stays kneeling in front of Darwin and the two gaze at each other.

Peter looks utterly exhausted, but he smiles wearily. He gently leans his forehead against Darwin's. "I got the bad guy, buddy," he whispers tiredly, "He was after Mr. Stark's plane. I knocked him right outta the sky, you should've seen it. It was like, the awesomest and scariest thing I've ever done." He lets out a huff of laughter, then inhales deeply. "God, I'm so tired."

Darwin turns his head and licks the boy's face. Instead of grimacing and moving away, though, Peter just huffs again and lets him lick the ashes off his face. Then, he leans forward and wraps his arms around the dog, careful to avoid his injured shoulder. Darwin rests his chin on his head and sighs, relieved.

'_Good boy. Let's get you home.' _

Peter eventually goes to the bathroom and cleans up, changing back into his homecoming suit when Ned returns with it. Then, Ned's mother arrives, soon followed by May. Thankfully, a lot of the smaller cuts on Peter's face are healed by the time she arrives. Peter and Darwin both hide their limps and May remains wonderfully oblivious. She excitedly asks question after question about the dance, but when it becomes clear that Peter is tired and not in the mood for chatter, she falls silent and drives with a small smile on her face.

Then they're home and Peter is stiffly getting into bed, mindful of his injuries. He's not even trying to go in the top bunk, which shows he's really in a lot of pain. Darwin curls up next to him and the exhausted duo fall asleep instantly.

Thankfully, the next day is Sunday, so they sleep in until 11AM. Darwin is awake first, the pain from his injured shoulder waking him up. He groans softly and lifts his head. Peter is still asleep beside him and he glances over. Any cuts and bruises he had are completely gone, but he's frowning in his sleep, feeling stressed. Sniffing, Darwin nudges his hand with his nose and the boy's eyes snap open.

He sits up quickly, then winces. Putting a hand on one of his shoulders, he grunts, "Remind me to never get trapped under a collapsed building ever again."

Darwin blinks. '_You what?' _

Rubbing his eyes, Peter glances at Darwin with a smile. "Hey, bud, how are you feeling? Let's take a look at that shoulder."

Crawling over to the dog's other side, Peter gently pushes aside some of his singed fur and frowns. Darwin can't see the burn, but just the act of pushing aside his fur makes him wince, so he know it can't be good. Peter takes a deep breath and gives him a tight smile.

"Let's just… keep an eye on that."

Peter gets out of bed and Darwin moves to follow him, but Peter gently pushes him back down. "No, no, bud, stay in bed today, okay?"

Obediently, Darwin lies back down, too tired to protest. Peter disappears for a few moments and Darwin hears him chatting with May in the other room. When he reappears, he's got a bowl of cereal in one hand and a bowl of kibble in the other.

"I told her you were just being a lazy couch potato after the dance and she believed me without question," Peter snickers, setting the bowl down in front of the dog. Then, he sits down next to him and the two eat their breakfast in silence.

As they do, Darwin finds himself not being very hungry. He nibbles at his food half-heartedly and Peter glances at him worriedly. The boy pulls out his phone and begins typing, eating his cereal as he scours the internet. Once he's finished, he stands up and pats Darwin's head.

"I'm gonna go get you some medicine to make you feel better," he reassures him, "Try and finish your breakfast, okay, bud?"

Darwin grunts in response and Peter disappears. As soon as he's gone, Darwin pushes his food away and flops onto his side. He's trying not to show it, but he feels awful. The pain in his left shoulder is nearly unbearable and constant, and even though he got a full night of sleep he's exhausted. He dozes off while Peter is gone and only wakes up when he walks back into the room.

He's holding a peanut butter sandwich and has a corner of it ripped off and in his hand. He offers it to Darwin, who glances away disinterestedly.

"C'mon, Darwin, you love peanut butter," Peter urges, "It's good, see?" To prove his point, he takes a big bite out of his sandwich and hums. He holds the piece in front of Darwin's nose. "Please?"

'_If it'll make you stop, fine.' _The dog gently takes the sandwich piece out of his hand and eats it. As he does, he feels a pill crunching between his teeth. '_Oh.'_

It doesn't seem to do much at first, but eventually the pain eases up slightly. Enough for him to leave the apartment briefly to do his business, but even May notices his fatigue.

"Do you think he's getting sick?" He hears her whisper to Peter, "Did he eat something bad at the party?"

Peter shrugs. "He was by my side the whole time."

"Well, if he doesn't perk up in the next couple of days, I'm taking him to the vet."

Even though he's exhausted, he barely sleeps that night. Peter has trouble sleeping too. The boy shifts and whimpers in his sleep, waking up with a jolt a couple of times. Darwin wonders what his nightmares are about this time. It must be something from the Vulture incident.

He feels even worse the next morning. It's all he can do to not let May see his limp as he follows Peter out the door for school. The boy tries to make him stay behind, but Darwin makes it very clear that he isn't going to. So, Peter just gives him another pill and deliberately slows his pace so that Darwin can keep up with his limp. As soon as they reach Midtown High, Darwin flops down on the grass and sighs.

Peter kneels down in front of him, worry in his eyes. "Take it easy today, okay, bud?" He says, gently scratching his head, "I'll put an ice pack on your shoulder when we get home."

Darwin grunts as the boy straightens up and joins the mass of students swarming into the school. He dozes off for most of the day, too tired to sniff around for food at lunchtime. He wakes up in the afternoon when he knows that Peter will be done soon.

'_He's probably in… what, Academic Decathlon right now?' _the dog muses, '_Shouldn't be long before he's done.' _His nap helped a bit with his fatigue, but his shoulder is aching with a new vigor. '_The pain medication must be wearing off.' _

A nice-looking car pulls into the parking lot and Darwin glances over at it. An odd time for a car to arrive, but Darwin doesn't think much of it. At least not until the driver steps out and it's Happy Hogan.

'_What's he doing here?' _Darwin wonders as the man glances around, walking towards the school. As he gets closer, Darwin stands up and limps over to him.

Happy quickly spots him and pauses. "Oh, right," he says, as if he'd forgotten Darwin even existed. He notices the dog's limp as he comes to stand in front of him and asks, "What happened to you?"

Darwin stares at him blankly. '_I could ask the same about you. Aren't you Stark's head of security? He must be pretty upset about his plane getting hijacked.' _

"What, Peter just leaves you outside of school without even a leash?" He sounds like he can't decide whether to be judgemental or concerned. "Well, anyway, I'm picking him up now anyway so you'd better come with." The man turns and heads into the school, Darwin soon following.

For some reason, they walk into a bathroom and wait in there while Happy texts Peter. Darwin sits down on the cold floor and watches as a boy walks in a moment later. However, it's not Peter, and the boy gives Happy an odd look before disappearing into one of the stalls.

Eventually, though, Peter does round the corner and blinks in surprise when he sees them.

"Hey, Happy," he says, feeling apprehensive, "What, uh… What are you doing here?"

To both Peter and Darwin's surprise, Happy actually smiles. "I really owe you one. I don't know what I would do without this job. I mean, before I met Tony-"

He's interrupted by a toilet flushing, soon followed by the boy from earlier walking out of the stall. He washes his hands as they stand there awkwardly, Happy glaring at him impatiently. As he leaves, the boy throws Peter a confused glance and Peter turns back to Happy with a sheepish expression.

"So, uh, how long you been here?"

"Long enough to be awkward," Happy responds, "Boss wants to see you."

Peter glances at the stalls and whispers, "Is he here too?"

"In the toilet? No, he's upstate."

That catches both boy and dog's attention. "Upstate? Like, upstate-upstate?"

"Yeah, let's go," Happy responds, leading the way out of the bathroom.

Peter doesn't follow immediately. Instead, he hesitates, looking back at Darwin who's still sitting on the floor. Noticing he's not being followed, Happy stops and asks, "What's wrong? Come on."

"Yeah, it's just…" Peter stammers, "It's, uh, Darwin. I mean, he hasn't been feeling really well… I don't know if he's up for a long trip…"

"Yeah, I noticed he's limping, what happened there?"

Peter hesitates. He walks back to Darwin and gently pushes aside the fur on his shoulder, revealing the burn. Happy actually looks concerned when he sees it and steps closer. He glances up at Peter as the boy explains.

"It was on homecoming night, I mean, when Toomes was preparing to steal Mr. Stark's stuff. He sent one of his guys to the school to stop me from coming after him and he had this electric weapon gauntlet thing on his arm and, well, Darwin tried to protect me and he got hit with it. I wanted to bring him to the vet, but Aunt May would find out and I didn't know how I could explain this to her, so…" Happy gives Darwin a contemplative look as Peter goes on, "I mean, I've been putting neosporin on it and stuff and I found some over-the-counter dog pain meds and-"

"Tell you what, kid," Happy interrupts, "Come along now and on the way back we can stop by a vet clinic and get him checked out. I'll cover it."

Peter blinks, surprised at the formerly grumpy man's generosity. "Oh, uh, you don't have to-"

"Don't worry about it," Happy grunts, already turning around, "Now come on."

Peter smiles at Darwin and the dog wags his tail. '_Alright,' _he thinks as they follow the man out, '_Maybe Happy's not so bad.'_

* * *

The drive takes a couple of hours and during it Darwin rests while Peter texts May with some excuse to be coming home late. Happy doesn't talk much, but he doesn't raise the partition like he did last time, so Darwin sees it as a positive. He doesn't seem annoyed when Peter asks questions and even asks some back.

"You didn't get too hurt dealing with Toomes, right, Peter?" He questions, feigning nonchalance.

Peter still feels surprised. "Oh, uh, no, no, I'm good- I mean, I was a little bruised up but, ya know, enhanced healing and all that… I'm fine."

Darwin huffs. '_A little bruised up?' _

"Why can't you tell me anything about what Mr. Stark wants to talk about?" Peter changes the subject, shifting in his seat eagerly.

"I'm sworn to silence, he wants it to be a surprise," Happy replies simply. After a moment, he adds in a gentler voice, "Don't worry, kid, you're gonna love it."

Peter seems to accept that and is relatively silent for the rest of the trip, idly petting Darwin the entire time. They eventually reach the Avengers Compound and both boy and dog gawk at it through the car window. Everything is so pristine and high tech- Darwin feels very out of place limping alongside Peter as they enter the building.

Stark isn't there when they arrive, but Happy assures him that he'll be there soon. Darwin glances around, his ears twitching.

'_Am I delirious with fever,' _he thinks, '_Or is that room over there full of reporters?' _

Peter is busy watching a Quinjet prepare to take off outside, so Darwin figures he can go take a look. He limps across the room and the closer he gets to the closed door, the louder the chatter behind it becomes. He stops and sniffs at the base of it.

'_Wow, smells like a lot of people. What has Stark got planned for Peter?' _he wonders. The crowd behind the door is buzzing with excited emotions.

Just then, Stark arrives, once again clad in a fancy suit, and asks for a moment with Peter. Happy doesn't seem, well, happy with this and follows a few feet behind them as they walk towards Darwin.

The dog watches as Stark playfully punches Peter in the shoulder, then puts an arm around him. "Sorry I took your suit," he says, "I mean, you had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough-love moment that you needed, right, to urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"

It kind of just sounds like Stark is trying to excuse what he did and pass it off as a good thing, but Peter agrees anyway and, after a brief pause, starts to apologize.

Stark, however, interrupts him. "You screwed the pooch hard," he says, "Big time."

Darwin arches a brow as they approach. '_What an odd thing to say.' _

It gets weirder.

"But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies…" It seems that Stark realizes that what he's saying is really weird. "Alright, not my best analogy." He pauses and looks at Peter. "I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team."

Peter and Darwin both take a moment to absorb what he just said.

'_Wait, what?' _Darwin thinks, '_Wait, wait, wait, are you crazy-'_

"To the… to the team?"

'_He is a fifteen year old boy!' _

"Yeah, anyway." Stark points at the door that Darwin is standing in front of. "Looks like the dog figured it out first, but there's about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers." He taps his watch and the wall in front of them opens up, revealing a brand new Spider-Man suit. This one is somehow even more high tech than the last one and seems to be made of metal. Peter stares at it in awe, but Darwin only feels apprehensive.

'_I don't know about this, Pete…' _

Stark appears very confident, however. "When you're ready, why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man."

Peter stammers for a couple of moments, not knowing what to say, and then settles on simply admiring the new suit. His eyes are bright, looking as if Stark just made his dreams come true, and Darwin stifles a sigh.

'_Okay… maybe this won't be so bad. I mean, a better suit means better protection. He'll probably get some actual training, so that'll be even better. He's never going to stop being Spider-Man, even without Stark's suits, so maybe… maybe this'll be really good for him? He's really happy. Happier than I've seen him in a long time…' _

Then, Stark decides to continue. "So, after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters." Just then, Peter's expression changes, just slightly but Darwin sees it. He watches as his boy realizes just what becoming an Avenger will really mean. Happiness fades into unease. "Where's he between? He's next to Vision?"

"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors," Happy replies, "Or walls."

"You'll fit right in," Stark reassures him.

Peter glances down at his feet, troubled. Sensing his bondmate's inner turmoil, Darwin pads up to him and nudges his hand. Peter looks at him, his fingers slowly tangling in his fur. Darwin blinks and leans against him comfortingly.

'_It's okay if you're not ready,' _he thinks, '_You don't have to be ready yet.' _

Even though the dog didn't say anything out loud, Peter's lip still twitches upwards and he takes a deep breath. With a final pat to Darwin's head, Peter turns to Stark and politely declines his offer.

The man is obviously not expecting that. He blinks in surprise and asks Peter to clarify, but seems to accept it after a few moments. "Okay," he says, clearly trying to gather his thoughts, "It's kind of a Springsteeny working class hero vibe that I dig. Uh, Happy will take you home. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Happy looks at Peter. "Mind waiting in the car? I need a minute."

Peter and Stark shake hands and the boy turns away. Seeing that as his cue, Darwin pads after the boy, still limping heavily. This doesn't go unnoticed by Stark, whose eyebrows knit in concern as he passes by.

"What happened to the dog?" He asks, confused.

Peter pauses and glances behind him. "Oh, he got a little hurt during the Vulture incident," he replies.

Stark opens his mouth to reply, but Happy says, "I'm gonna stop by the vet on the way back. Get him checked out, you know."

Stark nods, satisfied. "Good. Cover it."

"Obviously."

Darwin finally reaches Peter's side, but the boy doesn't continue right away. Instead, he hesitates and asks, "That was a test, right? There's, uh, nobody back there?"

"Yes, you passed."

Darwin snorts.

"Alright, skedaddle there, young buck."

'_Jesus Christ, Stark.' _


	14. Chapter 14

The visit to the vet takes a bit longer than originally planned. Darwin's burn had apparently gotten infected, hence his fatigue and fever, so the vet had to give him some pain medication in order to thoroughly clean out and properly wrap the burn. As promised, Happy covered the costs and Peter desperately tried to think up an explanation to give May about why Darwin had his shoulder wrapped.

It ends up not mattering once they get home because May is too distracted by the new Spider-Man suit she catches Peter wearing to even notice the dog.

The next ten minutes are filled with pure panic and chaos. Peter frantically tries to calm down his aunt as she shrieks "What the fuck! What the fuck!" repeatedly. Then, she's shrieking at him and demanding answers. Peter quickly caves, not seeing the point in trying to lie anymore, and tells her everything, from the spider bite, to Germany, to Toomes, and to Stark's offer only a few hours prior. May listens with a mixture of disbelief and shock on her face.

Then, seething, she says, "I am going to kill that man."

She pesters Peter until he gives her Happy's phone number, then she pesters him until he gives her Stark's number, then she yells at him for nearly fifteen minutes seemingly without taking a breath.

Meanwhile, Peter sits on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Darwin sits beside him and rests his chin on his shoulder supportively.

He honestly isn't sure what's going to happen now. May is… _really _angry. He's never seen or felt her so upset before. He wonders if she'll make Peter stop being Spider-Man.

He wonders if Peter would listen to her.

It takes a long time, but with reassurances from both Stark and Peter, May eventually calms down. She sits down on the couch with a heavy sigh and rubs her forehead.

"I am not happy about this, Peter," she says seriously, "I'm not happy that you lied to me for so long. Dammit, Peter, even the dog knew!" She exclaims the last part and Peter's lip twitches. Another sigh. "But… I don't know. I feel like I should stop you. I'm your aunt, I'm supposed to stop you from doing dangerous things. But… you do good, as Spider-Man. And you have these… these powers now?" She sounds so unsure and Darwin takes pity on her, padding over to her and resting his head on her knee. She smiles a bit and pats him before continuing, "If you're going to do this, then I'm glad you at least have someone like Stark looking after you. That doesn't mean I like him, or that I'm not still pissed off with him, because I am. But you said his suit makes you safer, so I guess he's… alright." Her teeth grit at that last part.

Peter feels relieved and is only slightly annoyed when she declares that she's giving him a curfew from now on. He has to return home by 11PM every night and has to text her multiple times throughout his patrols. Darwin isn't so upset with that part. It's not good for his boy to be staying up so late anyway.

The next couple of weeks pass by slowly. It's kind of odd, everything going back to normal after what just happened. Peter still feels bad about Liz moving away, but MJ seems to be taking her new role as Academic Decathlon captain well. She has the team stay for an hour after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and even lets Peter bring Darwin with him to team meetings. The dog quickly decides that he likes her and often lays next to her feet while she quizzes her fellow students.

Darwin's shoulder heals up nicely, much to Peter and May's relief. Just like Ned, May asked Peter if Darwin was enhanced too. When he denied it, May simply responded with, "But he watches TV!"

Peter laughed.

May seems to be getting more and more comfortable with the Spider-Man thing as time goes on. She runs her hand through Peter's hair fondly whenever the news reports on his latest heroic act and Darwin can feel her pride.

So for a while, things are going good. But of course, something has to change.

"I don't know, man, don't you think we're too old to go trick-or-treating?" Peter asks Ned as the two walk out of school.

"Dude, it's free candy," Ned replies bluntly, "Besides, now is your chance to go as Han Solo and Chewbacca."

"Oh my God."

They both laugh and Darwin rolls his eyes fondly. However, their laughter dwindles when a fancy black car pulls up in front of them. To the trio's shock, the back window rolls down to reveal Tony Stark, clad in his usual suit and sunglasses.

"Greetings, young ones," he says dramatically, "Mind if I borrow the Spiderling for a while, Fred?"

Ned wheezes in shock and nods breathlessly.

Peter is too surprised to do anything other than get in the car. A few other school goers notice him getting into the fancy vehicle and whisper among themselves, eyeing him curiously. Darwin hops in after him, careful not to step on anyone's feet.

"Sorry I haven't contacted you sooner," Stark begins as soon as the car pulls away, "Past couple of weeks have been kind of busy."

"That's alright," Peter says, slightly confused.

"So, how are things with Aunt Hottie?"

Peter wrinkles his nose and the older man laughs.

"I notice the suit is no longer being used past 11PM," Stark points out.

"Yeah, it sucks," Peter huffs, annoyed, "I feel like I barely have any time to patrol anymore."

"Ah, she'll lighten up sooner or later, don't worry," Stark reassures him with an amused glint in his eyes, "Besides, growing boys need their beauty sleep."

Peter snorts and rolls his eyes. He adds, "She's still pretty mad at you, by the way."

Stark winces. "Yeah. Not that I blame her, of course. Sweeping her superpowered teenage nephew off to Germany and giving him a multi-million dollar suit without telling her _may _not have been my best idea. But it all worked out in the end! In fact, how would you like to tell your aunt that you actually do have an internship with me?"

Peter blinks and tilts his head. "Er-but I don't?"

"You do now. I figured it'd be good for us to meet up every couple of weeks, ya know, check in and stuff. We can work on the suit- I can finally re-install that parachute that I hope you never use again- and I can, I don't know, show you around the lab and we can see what's in that big brain of yours…"

As Stark rambles, Darwin is mildly surprised to feel nervousness coming from him. He appears completely calm and cool on the outside, however, so he doubts Peter notices too.

'_How odd,' _Darwin thinks, '_I wouldn't think that such a famous and powerful man would be nervous around a teenager. Perhaps he's worried that Peter will refuse him again?' _

To the man's delight, Peter nods and eagerly agrees.

"That's awesome!" He nearly squeals, then catches himself, "I- I mean, uh, I'll have to ask Aunt May first, but I'm sure she'll be fine with it. When do you wanna meet? And where?"

"The Compound," Stark replies cooly, "Every other Friday. So Happy will come and pick you up tomorrow after school."

Peter gives him a blinding grin and expresses his excitement and gratitude. Darwin snorts at the odd mix of discomfort and satisfaction coming from Stark, watching as the man clears his throat and nods.

"Alright, then, Mr. Parker. Any questions?"

Peter looks a bit hesitant. "Uh, I can bring my dog, right?"

Stark blinks. "Of course you can bring the dog."

"Darwin."

"Darwin."

Said dog leans over and rests his head on Stark's knee. A moment later, he feels a hesitant hand on his head.

"Well, I can't say much about your aunt, but at least your dog likes me."

Darwin wags his tail and Peter laughs nervously, "Yeah, Darwin's really friendly, he likes everyone."

"Oh, great, well now I don't feel special anymore."

"Oh, no, no, I didn't mean it like that-"

Stark interrupts Peter's anxious rambling by laughing. Peter's eyes widen and then he huffs, a smile on his face.

Darwin glances between the two, his heart warming. '_This could be great for Peter.'_

* * *

It could be great, except it seems that Stark has never dealt with children before.

May hesitantly lets Peter go to the Compound the next day, glad that at least the internship is somewhat real this time. Happy picks the boy and the dog up from school on Friday and takes them on the long drive to the Compound. Peter is nervous the entire time, practically vibrating with energy.

Happy leads them to Stark's lab before disappearing. To the man's credit, Stark greets Peter warmly and gives him a tour of the lab and all of its facilities. Peter practically gawks the entire time, looking as if he's just seen heaven itself. Stark is, as usual, cool and confident, but Darwin can still feel his underlying nervousness.

It only becomes blatantly obvious that the man has no idea how to deal with children when they start to work. Conversation is… stilted, to say the least. And it's noticeably awkward. Darwin notices it. Peter notices it. Stark notices it. And so the next few hours are filled with so much tension and anxiety that Darwin almost feels sick.

Thankfully, it doesn't last much longer. Around 8PM, Stark casually suggests that Happy should take Peter home and the boy agrees. As they bid their goodbyes, Darwin can't help wincing at the mutual feelings of disappointment coming from both of them.

'_They both want so badly for this to work,' _he thinks, '_This has to work, it could be really good for Peter to have a mentor! They just need to… break the ice or something.' _

As they drive back to the apartment, Happy asks, "So… did you have fun, kid?"

Peter straightens up. "Oh, oh yeah, totally! It was, uh, really cool. So cool…"

Happy gives him a knowing look in the rearview mirror. "Was he weird?"

"What?"

"I mean, was he, like, awkward?" When Peter doesn't reply right away, Happy adds, "I've never known Tony to willingly want to hang out with kids, but you're a special case for him."

Peter deflates a bit. "I don't want him to… you know… feel like he _has_ to hang out with me or anything," he says softly. His fingers run through Darwin's fur.

"Listen, kid, Tony doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do. So, if he's inviting you to visit him in the Compound, it's because he wants to hang out with you. I was just trying to say that, well, since he's never really hung out with kids before, he might not be so good at it… at first. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Just… give it some time and you'll be more comfortable with each other."

"Oh." Peter blinks, looking down at Darwin, "Okay, I think I get it… Thanks, Happy."

"No problem, kid."

* * *

"Aww, you look adorable!"

'_I look ridiculous.'_

Darwin stands in the middle of the living room, wearing a Chewbacca dog costume and glaring at his owners as they coo at him.

"Hey, Darwin, speak!" Peter says as he holds his phone up, no doubt taking a video, "Howl! Go awooo wooo! C'mon buddy, make a Chewbacca noise!"

'_No,' _Darwin thinks, '_Absolutely not. This is stupid. I look outrageous.'_

Peter gives him a blinding smile and a pleading look.

Darwin sighs.

"Awoooooooo…"

"Ha ha! Yes!" Peter cheers and high-fives May, "That was amazing, I can't believe I got that on video!"

"That was the most adorable thing I've ever seen him do!" May squeals.

Sensing their utter joy and happiness, Darwin figures the humiliation was worth it.

"Alright, go on, Han Solo, go have fun with Ned," May says, ushering her nephew towards the door.

Peter, who is in fact dressed as Han Solo, leads the way downstairs and meets with Ned in front of the apartment. Ned is dressed in a fairly impressive Darth Vader costume.

"Oh my God, Darwin looks adorable!" The other boy says.

"I know, right?" Peter holds up his phone, "Look, I made him my background."

'_Oh great.' _

"Awesome. So, which neighborhood should we go to first?"

Trick-or-treating is an… odd experience, to say the least. There are a lot of people out, but Darwin notices that most of the people seeking candy are younger than Peter and Ned. Darwin never really paid much mind to the holiday as a stray, but even he knew that trick-or-treating was something that the younger humans did.

However, aside from getting a few odd looks, Peter and Ned continue on throughout the night. They seem to be enjoying themselves, laughing and chatting while they eat candy. Darwin is upset when Peter doesn't let him have any.

'_I let you dress me up in this stupid costume to help you get candy, and I don't even get a nibble? Where's my pay?' _

Peter yanks his bag of candy away when Darwin sticks his nose in it.

"Bad dog!" He scolds, "Candy is not good for you!"

'_Not good for you either,' _Darwin thinks, nudging Peter. The boy rolls his eyes and turns back to Ned. Darwin sighs. '_Oh well, at least he's having fun. Any time with candy is a good time to Peter. Well, actually, any time with food is a good time to Peter. Especially free food.'_

"Wow!" Peter's exclaim catches his attention. He and Ned are looking down in their bags. "Those guys just gave us full Hershey's bars! Not even the mini ones, just full-on bars!"

"They must be rich," Ned instantly assumes.

Peter laughs and Darwin tilts his head. '_Hmm, I wonder what kind of candy Stark would give out if we were trick-or-treating at his place. Probably some fancy stuff, a guy that rich has got to have some amazing- heeeyy, wait a minute! Idea!' _A metaphorical lightbulb goes off in the dog's head. '_They can break the ice with food! Peter loves food and he's always hungry after school. I'm sure if Stark had some snacks for him while they worked Peter would be more comfortable. Maybe they could even have a normal conversation!' _

Darwin glances up at Peter as he chats with Ned. He feels the comfort and happiness emitting from the boy, watches as he converses with Ned easily.

'_They just need to get comfortable with each other,' _Darwin thinks, '_I don't know much about Stark, but it doesn't seem like he's going to be the one to relax first. But I'm sure if Peter gets comfortable, Stark will soon follow.' _

The trio stops in their tracks when a kid in front of them vomits up a bunch of candy onto the street. Darwin winces and looks at Peter.

The boy is still munching away at his candy, looking undisturbed as he eyes the houses they haven't gone to yet. Ned is slowing down a bit, though, eating his candy with much less vigor. In fact, he's starting to look a bit queasy.

'_You know what,' _Darwin thinks as he glances at Peter's heavy candy bag, '_We've been here for hours. You boys don't need more sugar.' _

With that thought, he snatches the bag from Peter's hand and trots away, leaving the boy spluttering behind him.

"Hey! Hey, wait!"

* * *

On Friday evening, Peter and Darwin are back in Stark's lab. The silence is awkward, just like last time, and Peter's leg jiggles nervously. Meanwhile, Darwin glances around, wondering how to leave without alerting Peter.

Thankfully, Stark provides him with a distraction.

"Hey, uh, kid," the man says, feigning nonchalance, "Uh, come over and check this out."

Peter perks up. "Sure."

As soon as the boy leaves his side, Darwin quietly trots out of the lab. He knows the kitchen is attached to the main living area, so he makes his way over there. Once he's in the kitchen, he sniffs around the cabinets, pawing open one that smells like it has a lot of snacks in it. His reward is a large bag of potato chips. Grabbing it in his mouth, he turns, closes the pantry with a whack of his tail, and heads back down to the lab.

"Hey, where's Darwin?" He hears Peter ask right as he walks in. Peter turns around and his eyes widen. "Darwin! Where did you get that? Put that down!"

Peter reaches over and grabs it out of his mouth. "Sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter apologizes, putting the bag on the table, "He's not usually like this."

"Hey, it's alright, dogs like to eat, I get it," Stark says. He reaches for the bag of chips and opens it. "At least he brought us a snack. You hungry?"

Peter laughs nervously and lies, "Oh, no, I'm good, thanks."

Peter's stomach then decides to growl very loudly.

Stark raises an eyebrow and Peter blushes. Darwin stifles an amused snort.

"You're good, huh?" Stark asks.

"Well," Peter stammers, "I guess I could use a snack. I usually eat after school."

Stark offers him the bag of chips and Peter takes it. "They don't feed you lunch at school?"

"Oh, no, they do," Peter replies, scratching the back of his head, "It's just, I, uh, well- I mean, with my powers, I just eat more. Than usual, I mean." He munches on a chip.

Darwin feels a flash of surprise from Stark. "Right." The man nods. He opens his mouth as if to say more, then hesitates and closes it. There's a moment of silence, then he turns back to whatever he was working on and asks, "So... what do you think of this, then?"

"Well, I think it's cool, but admittedly I don't know much about nanotechnology," Peter replies, a bit uncertain.

"Eh, I wouldn't expect you to, I bet they don't teach this stuff at school, do they?"

Peter laughs, "Unfortunately, no, they don't. Although my science class would be a lot more interesting if they did."

A flash of warm emotion and Stark gives Peter a grin. "School a bit too slow for you, eh?"

"Oh! No- well, I don't mean to sound-"

"No, no, it's alright," Stark laughs, "I thought school was slow when I was your age. My teachers never told me anything I didn't already know."

Peter smiles nervously and asks, "When you were my age, you were already in MIT, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was. Met my friend Rhodey there, too. You remember him, he was in Germany too."

Peter perks up. "Yeah, War Machine! He's so cool!"

"Yeah, well, this one time we were…"

Darwin wags his tail as Stark spends the rest of the evening telling stories from his days at MIT to Peter while they eat chips. The boy is delighted, listening to the stories with his eyes practically sparkling. Darwin can tell that Stark likes the attention too.

By the time Happy comes to bring Peter home, the boy has a couple of books on nanotech in his hands and a huge grin on his face. When he sees this, Happy smiles softly but says nothing, driving them home in silence.

Meanwhile, Darwin feels triumphant. '_Mission accomplished.' _


	15. Chapter 15

From then on, Stark always has snacks ready for Peter when he goes to the Compound. He quickly realizes that Peter feels awkward when he's the only one eating, so he makes sure to have a few bites of whatever snack he brings out. Darwin can now confidently say, or, well, _think_, that the ice has officially been broken.

It's rather nice watching the two interact. Peter is a fast learner, which Stark clearly appreciates. Darwin can slightly understand the concept of nanotech, but then Stark starts teaching him more and more and eventually the dog just starts to tune out their scientific mumbo jumbo. Peter is like a sponge, absorbing all the information Stark gives him with an eagerness that warms the older man's heart. Darwin finds it hilarious how quickly a man like Stark grows attached to Peter. Hilarious, but not surprising. The kid just has a way of melting people's hearts.

Happy has been in a considerably better mood lately. Peter always regales with enthusiasm what Stark taught him that day on the drive back to the apartment, and while Happy usually only hums and makes small comments in response, Darwin can tell how, well, happy the man is. He doesn't know what Happy does while they're down in the lab, but he must not be very busy because a few times Darwin has seen him peeking in and smiling at the sight of the two working together.

It isn't long before Stark invites Peter to come to the Compound every Friday instead of every other week. Aunt May doesn't take much convincing to agree; it's obvious to her how good this 'internship' has been for her nephew. Much like Darwin, she doesn't understand anything that Peter talks about when he tells her about his time at the Compound, but the sparkle in Peter's eyes speaks volumes.

And so they begin to see a lot more of Stark. Peter obviously cherishes his time with Stark and the bond between the two strengthens everyday. Darwin himself has become fond of the man, although he can't tell if it's because he actually likes him or if perhaps it's a side effect of his bond with Peter. The fact that Stark has begun keeping a variety of dog treats in the lab for Darwin to snack on probably helps too. Despite all of that, however, Darwin still can't help noticing how Stark never mentions the Accords or the Rogues. It's not like the problem disappeared as soon as Rogers and Barnes did. Peter occasionally turns on the news to see news anchors talking about the Accords and what will happen next and what will this mean for the current Avengers.

Then there's the question that runs rampant in both Peter and Darwin's mind: What does this mean for Spider-Man?

Darwin knows that Peter wants to ask Stark. He thinks he will, sometimes, when there's a moment of silence between the two working in the lab, when he can see the desperation for an answer in his boy's eyes. Sometimes he even opens his mouth to ask. But the question never comes. Instead, he hesitates and either closes his mouth or asks something else.

'_What is it with humans never acknowledging the elephant in the room?' _Darwin wonders, '_It happens with May and Peter, and now it's happening with Peter and Stark.' _

Well, there's not much Darwin can do about it. In fact, there's not much Darwin can do for either of them when they're in the labs. The two quickly become immersed in 'science mode', as Darwin likes to think of it, and the dog kind of just ends up being… forgotten. Not that he minds- he's glad that Peter and Stark are bonding so well. It's just that he ends up getting a little bored from time to time.

Like now, for instance. He's lying down underneath a table, listening idly as Stark drones on and on about… energy fusion? Whatever that is. He sighs and half-heartedly nibbles an itch on his paw. All of a sudden, he hears a faint sneeze coming from outside the lab. Blinking in surprise, he lifts his head and glances at Peter.

Oblivious, the boy watches with eager eyes as Stark shows him how a complicated-looking tool works.

Huffing, Darwin gets up and decides to investigate. '_Enhanced hearing, my tail,' _he mentally grumbles as he leaves the room, his exit going unnoticed by the two humans, '_More like selective hearing, if you ask me.' _

The sneeze sounded like it came from the kitchen, so he makes his way over there. As he does, he hears Friday ask someone, "Shall I alert Boss of your arrival?"

"Nah," a voice replies, "Let me enjoy my sandwich in peace first. I'm starving."

There isn't anyone in the kitchen, but he does spot a man sitting on one of the couches in the nearby common area. Padding over, he notices a sandwich in the man's hands and a bag of chips in his lap. His mouth waters and he approaches, tail wagging to make himself seem friendly.

The man startles when he sees him and mutters, "What the fuck?"

'_Hello, that smells good,' _Darwin thinks, sitting down in front of him and giving him his best puppy dog eyes, '_Wanna share?' _

The man blinks at him in shock and confusion. Darwin glances at his sandwich, then back at him and licks his snout. The man frowns slightly and pulls his sandwich closer.

"Uh, Friday?"

"Yes, Mr. Rhodes?"

"Did Tony get a dog?" The man's voice sounds incredulous, as if the mere thought of Stark getting a dog is ridiculous.

"No," comes Friday's short reply. Darwin briefly wonders how much she's allowed to say about Peter. The only people that know about Peter's alter ego are Stark, Happy, and Aunt May- and Ned too- so, she'll probably divert to Peter's cover story with this man. But that name- Rhodes. That sounds familiar. Is he an Avenger?

"Okay, so what is a dog doing here?" Rhodes asks the AI.

Friday responds, "The dog belongs to Boss's intern, who is currently with him in his lab."

'_I wonder why Friday calls Stark 'Boss'?' _Darwin casually wonders while Rhodes nods slowly.

"Right," he says, then blinks, "Wait- intern? Tony has an intern? Since when?"

"Since October 23th."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Darwin leans closer to the man and sniffs his sandwich, which is quickly pulled away from him.

"I believe he wants your sandwich," Friday pipes up helpfully.

"Yeah, I can see that." Rhodes stuffs his sandwich in his mouth, devouring it in a few quick bites. Darwin lets out a sigh of disappointment. "So much for enjoying my sandwich in peace," Rhodes grumbles, then reaches over to pat Darwin's head. "So, what's his name, then?"

"His name is Darwin."

Rhodes snorts and shakes his head. "No, I meant the intern. Tell me about him."

"His name is Peter Parker. He is a sophomore attending Midtown High."

"Uh-huh. And how did he and Tony meet?"

A pause. Darwin can't feel any emotions from Friday, but if he could, he would think she was feeling uncertain.

"Perhaps you should ask Boss yourself."

'_Figures. Stark didn't tell his own AI what the cover story is,' _Darwin thinks, bemused.

Rhodes is starting to feel a bit suspicious, so he gets up and begins making his way towards the lab. Darwin follows him and the man glances at him. "Damn, you're huge. No wonder you're hungry- a dog like you must eat like a horse."

Darwin sniffs, mildly offended, and brushes past him to walk ahead. Through their bond, he can feel a spark of surprise from Peter followed by confusion and assumes that the boy just now realized that the dog is gone. Snorting in amusement, he re-enters the lab in time for Peter to turn around and spot him.

"There you are! Where'd you run off to- oh!" Peter falters, spotting Rhodes behind him. The man gives him a friendly smile, which Peter returns while glancing between him and Stark nervously. At Peter's pause, Stark looks up and spots Rhodes. His face breaks out in a wide grin.

"Rhodey! Come on in, honey, don't be shy." Stark turns and walks towards his friend, giving him a short hug, "When did you get in?"

Darwin pads over to Peter, who is watching the two men exchange pleasantries with a mixture of awe and anxiety. He gives his boy's hand a reassuring nudge and Peter immediately begins kneading the fur on the back of his head, relaxing slightly.

Stark tries to keep Rhodes engaged in a conversation about… some mission Rhodes just came back from? However, the other man's eyes keep darting to Peter and it's obvious he just wants to ask about him.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all good, everything's fine," Rhodes says, brushing Stark off, "I was just gonna eat a sandwich before coming to find you but I was interrupted by this big guy." He nods at Darwin before looking at Peter. "Darwin, was it?"

Peter startles, wide-eyed. "Yes! I mean, yeah, his, uh, his name is Darwin. Like Charles Darwin..." He trails off awkwardly.

Rhodes nods like what he said was very interesting before turning to grin at Stark. "So, you have an intern?" His tone is cheerful, but his eyes scream 'what the fuck?'. Darwin glances at Stark as well, noting the faint nervousness coming from the man.

"Yup, this is Peter," Stark replies smoothly. He waves Peter closer. "Pete, this is Colonel James Rhodes. I'm sure I've mentioned him before."

"Just call me Rhodey," the man says as he holds his hand out for Peter to shake.

Peter takes it and says in response, "You're War Machine!" His eyes are wide and he sounds awestruck, causing Rhodey to laugh. The boy startles and his face reddens. "Oh! I- I mean, uh, nice to meet you, sir."

"Nice to meet you too, kid." Rhodey pulls away and looks at Stark, an odd look in his eyes. "Soooo, how'd you two meet?"

Darwin feels Stark panic slightly and wonders, '_Wait, they did make a cover story, right?' _

After a moment, Stark replies, "Oh, I always have Friday keeping a look-out for kids with potential. So we can, you know, hire them before any other companies can. Peter here caught my attention, though, and I reached out and offered him an internship."

It's a weak story and if anything it only increases the feelings of suspicion coming from Rhodey. Darwin wrinkles his nose and glares at Stark. '_What the heck was that? I thought you were supposed to be a genius? I expect better from you.'_

"Uh huh," Rhodey responds, sounding unconvinced. Stark gives him a charming smile before pretending to check his watch.

"Oh, look at the time! Guess we'd better get you home, huh, kiddo?"

Peter quickly gets the hint and grabs his backpack. Meanwhile, Stark calls out, "Friday, tell Happy it's time to take the kid home."

To everyone's surprise, Friday responds with, "Happy is currently unable to take Mr. Parker home."

Peter freezes and Stark frowns. "What? Why not?"

"He received a call about a family emergency and had to leave. He left a message for you at 6:45PM."

"Well, why didn't I get it?" Stark sounds a bit annoyed.

If Darwin didn't know better, he'd think Friday's response was a bit smug. "You told me to not interrupt your "Peter time" unless aliens are attacking or someone is dying."

Peter flushes, Rhodey eyebrows skyrocket, and Darwin snorts. '_Good luck getting out of that one, tough guy.' _The dog relishes in the embarrassment radiating from the billionaire. On the outside, Stark merely sniffs and says, "Well, add 'Happy is suddenly unavailable' to that list."

"Yes, sir."

"No matter, you can just stay here tonight, Pete," the man declares as if that solves all their problems.

"What?" Peter exclaims.

"I was thinking of ordering pizza for dinner, does that sound good?" Stark continues, pulling out his phone, "Rhodey, you want pizza?"

"I just had a sandwich, I'm good." Rhodey shakes his head, instead looking at Peter who is clearly freaking out.

Stark rolls his eyes. "A sandwich for dinner? Lame. What kind of pizza do you want, underoos?"

Peter looks like he's still trying to process what is going on. "Uhh…"

"Better order some dog food for Chewbacca here, too," Stark mutters, focusing on his phone, "What kind of dog food does he eat, kid?"

"Er, dry, but- wait, wait!" Peter stammers, waving his hands, "I can't stay here! I mean, I at least have to call my aunt first- maybe she can just come and pick me up-"

"I'm not gonna make your aunt drive all the way upstate just to immediately drive back to Queens," Stark interrupts, "I'll never hear the end of it. If you're worried about not having any PJs, there's some in your room, which is still ready for you, by the way."

"It is?" Peter asks the same time that Rhodey asks, "He has a room here?"

"It's a spare room," Stark says quickly, "Guest room, I mean."

"Right," Rhodey sounds dubious, "With clothes for a teenager."

Unfazed, Stark simply gives him a charming smile and says, "Yup! C'mon, kiddo, I'll show you where it is." With that, he quickly sweeps a spluttering Peter out of the lab.

Rhodey watches them leave before sighing and shaking his head. He glances at Darwin, who merely wags his tail in response. "Do you know what the hell is going on here?" He asks, sounding very done with the situation.

Darwin figures he must be used to Stark's odd behaviors, if he's been friends with him for so long. He can't even begin to imagine the stress this man has experienced throughout his life. Taking pity on him, Darwin gives his hand a comforting lick and wags his tail, panting happily. Rhodey smiles and pats his head before leaving the lab. Darwin brushes past him and trots to catch up with Stark and Peter.

"... think he's suspicious?" He hears Peter whispering.

Stark snorts, "Definitely. But don't worry, let him think what he wants. I can keep him from finding out about your crime-fighting hobby as long as you want."

Peter is quiet for a moment, then says, "Well… it's okay, I guess. Him knowing. I mean, he's an Avenger. But, uh, will you be okay?"

Stark glances at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Darwin can tell that Peter is feeling a bit unsure, but before he can go and comfort him, Peter overcomes it by himself. "I mean… I don't want… I mean, uh, do you think he'll get mad at you? About bringing me to Germany, I mean. I, uh, I mean, I'm kind of young- and it's not like I couldn't handle it, I'm strong- but, er, he doesn't know that and I don't know, I just don't want you to have to deal with-"

"Peter, relax," Stark says, causing Peter to stop babbling. He looks the kid in the eye and says, "Don't worry about me, alright? If you want Rhodey or, hell, even the whole world to know that you're Spiderman, that's fine. That's your choice. I can deal with whatever shit people have to say about… well, whatever, you know?"

Peter blinks before slowly nodding once. "Okay," he says softly, "But I mean, uh, maybe let's not tell the whole world just yet. Or, you know, ever." He laughs nervously.

Stark smiles and nods. "Sure thing." They come to a stop in front of a door and the man pats Peter's back before turning away. "There's your room. Why don't you check it out and call Aunt Hottie about staying the night while I order dinner, 'kay?"

"Okay." Peter moves to open the door, then pauses and glances back. "Er, pepperony. And we get Kirkland dog food for Darwin. Uh, we get it from Costco so it comes in a pretty big bag so I don't know if you wanna-"

"Pepperony and Kirkland, got it," Stark says, turning and walking down the hall, "Come to the living room when you're done." With that said, he disappears.

Once the whirlwind that is Tony Stark is gone, Peter turns to Darwin and lets out a heavy sigh. His boy is feeling a bit overwhelmed, so Darwin sits next to him so he can pet him for a couple of minutes.

'_Now, what should I do?' _Darwin wonders, '_Stay with Peter while he calls Aunt May and see his room, or follow Stark and listen to what will probably be a very interesting conversation with Rhodey?' _

He figures he'll see Peter's room later when he goes to sleep, so when the boy enters his room and takes out his phone, the dog trots back down the hallway and into the living room. Like he assumed, Rhodey is already there and is fixing Stark with a look that says 'okay, spill the beans'.

Stark, of course, decides to pretend that nothing happened. "Hey, Friday, order me and Pete some pizza. Pepperony. Large. Actually, maybe we should make it two, teenagers eat a lot-"

"Tony!" Rhodey exclaims, exasperated, "What the hell is going on?"

Blinking innocently, Stark replies, "Um, I'm ordering a pizza?"

"You have an intern? Since when? I thought you said you'd never have the time or patience to have an intern!" Rhodey crosses his arms. "And you let him in your lab? Tony, it took years before you finally let _me_ into your lab. What's the deal with this kid?"

"Don't sound so jealous, poo-bear, you'll always be my favorite," Stark teases, causing Rhodey to roll his eyes.

"Shall I order drinks as well, boss?" Friday interrupts with a question.

Stark shakes his head. "Nah, we've got stuff here. But make sure you get some of that dog food Peter mentioned for Chewbacca here." Darwin sneezes and Stark pats his head.

"Tony, seriously," Rhodey presses. "Who is this kid?"

Stark pauses for a moment, then straightens up and looks him head on. "This kid is Peter Parker. He's a student at Midtown High and he's been my intern for the past few weeks," he says simply, finishing off with a cheeky grin.

Rhodey narrows his eyes. Stark gazes back at him coolly. The staring match continues for a few tense moments. Darwin glances between the two awkwardly. Rhodey feels suspicious and frustrated, but it's nothing compared to the steadfast protectiveness that the dog feels from Stark. It's nice, feeling those emotions from the man. He's already being such a good mentor for Peter.

Finally, Rhodey leans back and raises his hands. "Fine," he says. He looks away, feigning nonchalance. "Don't tell me, then. I'm sure I'll figure out what the deal is sooner or later. Just promise me he's not your long lost son or something."

"He's not."

"You sure about that, Tones? He's got the brown hair and the eyes and apparently the intelligence-"

"He's _not_," Stark repeats, more insistent this time. Rhodey doesn't look convinced. After a moment, he adds, "I did a paternity test, just in case."

Rhodey's eyes widen before he dissolves into sputtering laughter.

Darwin's head whips around as the dog stares at Stark incredulously. '_You WHAT?' _

"Aunt May said it was okay for me to stay the night!" Peter says excitedly as he re-enters the room. He glances between the three, noticing Rhodey's laughter and Darwin's raised hackles, and asks, "Did something happen?"

"Nope!" Stark grins, "C'mon kid, let's watch a movie or something. I know you're a Star Wars fan, but have you ever been introduced to the far superior Star Trek?"

* * *

**Okay, important update here. This is the last chapter that I have prewritten and I have not written anything else. I wrote most of this in January and I gotta be honest with you guys, I don't really wanna write more. I just have zero inspiration to write more and this quarantine is really not helping.**

**HOWEVER, my sister has expressed interest in taking over the story for me. She hasn't written in a while but she's always my go-to person when I start thinking about/planning a fanfic so she's basically my co-writer already. (My original idea for Darwin was for him to be a human/dog shapeshifter kind of like Sirius Black and I wrote like 70 pages of that until my sister was like nope change that its weird. Darwin is an empathic dog thanks to her)**

**There are a few scenes that I want to see happen but I just don't have the inspiration to sit down and write them out, so I will be outlining some chapters for her to write. Some people have been wondering if this story will go to Endgame and the answer is no, it will not be following cannon after this. Unless my sister can think of a definitive ending, this will probably just turn into a bunch of wholesome IronDad and SpiderSon (and Darwin) drabbles. You can even suggest some stuff in the comments.**

**Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know in case you notice a difference in writing in the future chapters (although I don't think you will notice, she's pretty good). Updates might be sporadic also.**

**Sorry if this isn't what you thought the fic would turn into. I'm really happy with what I have written though and I'm confident that my sister will take over well.**

**Until next time :)**


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